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it’s quiet…. it’s cold.
in the silence of the night, there still managed to be a lot of sound. the crickets were gently chittering away in the bushes around them. the wind bustled the leaves, making them sway. the fire roared gently, occasionally a crackle here or there bringing attention back to the scene around them.
bennett had managed to successfully light the fire, but otherwise, had been strictly instructed to stay put and rest. the typical activities of the day had turned not-so-typical; the boars seemed out to kill him, the hilichurls actually had good aim, and the weather had made every set path into a muddy mess. he was battered, and torn, and bleeding, and frustrated- today hadn’t just been his usual bad happenings. it had been straight rotten.
but… it had its perks, he supposed. as the sun finally set, his bad luck seem to diminish as well. with the appearance of the stars, the moon had appeared. and the moon was beautiful.
the moon has a dappling silver hue that runs down all its sides, and tiny craters that dot its nose and cheeks and shoulders. the moon had lots of little scars from passing comets and past calamities. the moon cradles brilliant rubies that whisper of treasure and adventure. the moon glows so warmly in the presence of firelight.
the moon gently wraps his wounds, caring to him as if he was the only star in the whole universe, despite millions of others being brighter than him.
he didn’t dare look up, lest he be blinded by the moon, or lest the moon questioned the curious expression on his face.
the gentle static faded from his fingers as the bandages were tied off, leaving bennett feeling more disappointed than he should and more cold than he realized. the warmth of the fire wasn’t exactly the warmth he so desperately craved, even if it was doing a good job of drying his shoes and making the rocks warm.
bennett took a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding and looked up, finally, hoping the depths of his expression weren’t so readable if the other was on the other side of the fire. he watched as the other poked the flames, grunting in dissatisfaction that it wasn’t staying as bright as he’d hope.
razor approached bennett’s side again, causing bennett to once again stare at the ground and avoid those brilliant rubies that kept staring at him, almost piercing his soul. but even harder it was to ignore the hand on his shoulder, then the body beside his, and the face that was so close bennett swore he could feel his breathing.
bennett finally took the chance to look to his right, his eyes meeting square on with razor’s, who was looking at him with a terrifying amount of consideration. he blinked, once, but that was it. bennett slowly started feeling less flustered and a lot more confused.
“hmm… still hurt?” razor frowned, a hitch in his voice catching bennett off guard.
“hmm? no, razor, im fine- thank you. im feeling a lot better now!” he finally broke away from the stare as he looked toward the fire with a smile, though the other’s look did not break or change in the slightest.
“benny is bad at pretending.” razor huffed, removing his touch to cross his arms in annoyance. bennett giggled a little, more amused by the antics than the prodding. razor perked up at this, a smile slowly creeping across his face, waiting for bennett to respond otherwise.
bennett just stared in response for a few minutes, battling against the red glare that seemed to both be pitying him and playing with him, before he finally gave up and leaned into razor. razor reciprocated the response, curling his arm around bennett’s back and resting his other hand on bennett’s own.
bennett was still for a moment before taking razor’s hand in his, allowing his breathing to calm and align with the other. he could hear razor’s heartbeat- it was slower than his own, but still rapidly pacing, which he found strange comfort in.
“thanks for being here.” bennett voiced after a long silence between them, moving his head to look directly at razor again, finishing it off with a wide toothy smile. “it uh… it feels selfish. but I enjoy your company a lot. I feel bad that you had to patch me up like that. but I think i'm mostly just thankful.” he paused, looking away. “really thankful.”
razor was the one who curled into bennett his time, settling with a quiet huff. bennett could feel his vision flickering on his back, dangerously close to the electricity of the other boy, but it only made him want to pull him closer. he gently rubbed razor’s hand, accounting every callous and bump and scar, as if memorizing his touch.
“razor too. I am… glad. I am warm today. I am warmer than the sun.”
as bennett looked at razor, he could see the sun in his eyes. he saw the silhouette of himself surrounded by the glimmer of the fire. he could feel himself grin, and the emotions bubble over as tears threatened his eyes, perhaps laughing more than he should have been. but razor was laughing too, his eyes glistening a color bennett had never seen before. bennett wanted to kiss those eyes. he wanted to kiss those tears.
they settled into silence, curled perfectly into each other, as the fire flickered out due to the lack of prodding. razor curled his coat around the both of them, unwilling to fix the fire if it meant disrupting bennett, who was quickly fading asleep. he kept his ears alert to the world around him, but kept his eyes attuned to the other.
razor gently held his hand on the burning face of the sun. the sun is covered in spots and bumps from many storms. the sun has funny scars from burning itself in its brilliance. the sun smiled so brightly, even in its moment of rest, that it reflected its joy on the surface of the moon.
it’s quiet… and so warm.