Work Text:
“Where are we going?” Dew asked, looking around at all of the trees, peering past their trunks just in case they might be hiding something spectacular.
Mountain smiled and shook his head. “You’ll see. It's not too far now. Don't worry.” Mountain squeezed Dew’s waist reassuringly. He had insisted that he didn’t need a walking stick or any other support for the walk but Mountain knew that he was still feeling weak. The water ghoul had been leaning against him since they left the abbey. He didn’t mind, of course, he was there for whatever Dew needed. The closeness was nice too, obviously, and he may have blushed a little when Dew slipped his arm around his middle and pulled him in close.
“Feels like we’ve been walking for hours.” Dew sighed.
“It's been about ten minutes, Dewberry.” Mountain chuckled. “I would offer to carry you the rest of the way but I’m carrying all of this.”
Dew looked up and eyed the bags Mountain was carrying. “Surely they can’t all be important.”
“I assure you they are.” The earth ghoul grunted as he readjusted his hold on them.
“More important than me?” Dewdrop batted his eyelashes coyly up at Mountain, whose face suddenly turned unreadable, almost sad.
“Nothing is more important than you.”
It was spoken almost like a confession. Dew would never admit to how red his cheeks went in that moment. He cleared his throat and reached up to touch the thing hanging around Mountain’s neck. “What’s that?”
“They’re binoculars. They let you see things far away.” Mountain explained. He hadn’t told Dew everything about the… trip that they were going on. Date? He wasn’t sure if he could call it a date, if he was allowed to at this point. He hadn’t exactly proposed it as a date but he and Dew had definitely grown close. There was something else there other than friendship. He just hoped he wasn’t the only one who felt it.
Dew hummed at the response and they continued their walk in relative silence. They didn’t need to speak, though, the woods filled the silence for them. The trees whispered secrets to one another, their orange leaves rustling in the faint breeze, the birds sang and chirped and cawed all around, and the distant sound of trickling water grew louder as they approached their destination. Mountain couldn’t deny he missed this, being out in his element. He loved looking after Dew and spending time in the abbey but the woods held a special place in his heart too.
Up ahead there was a long wooden hut of sorts, sat on a small hill overlooking a stream running through a clearing. Mountain helped Dew up the steps to it and shut the door behind them once they were inside. A wonderful wooden smell hit them both and Mountain breathed it in deep. Long, narrow windows lined the wall looking out at the stream, with a bench and a desk running along underneath. Dew eased himself down onto the bench while Mountain set the bags on the desk.
“This is a bird hide.” Mountain answered the question he knew Dew was about to ask. “It's a place where you can birdwatch without disturbing the birds. Sometimes the siblings and other earth ghouls come up here but they won’t on a day like this.” He gestured out at the fine drizzle that had started to fall. The fact that he had glared particularly hard at Ivy when he mentioned he might join them also contributed to knowledge that they wouldn’t be disturbed.
Dew nodded and looked around and Mountain started to unpack the bags. He had prepared a couple of flasks of tea for him and hot chocolate for Dew and some blankets to make sure the water ghoul didn’t get too cold. He had also brought a cushion so that Dew could sit comfortably on the bench, a bird guide, a notepad and pens to note down the birds they see, some snacks and another pair of binoculars for Dew to use. They were shiny and new, unlike his own pair which were battered and clearly well loved. Seeing as he wasn’t a part of the band, he would be staying while they went on tour and so he had gone around asking the ghouls and siblings that would be joining them if they needed anything looked after while they were gone. He had promised people that he’d look after their plants and dust their rooms and take care of any pets and even cover some weekly chores while they were away. But the extra work was worth it because he had managed to get enough cash to buy the new binoculars
He was starting to feel nervous about the whole idea, though. Dew hadn’t said anything so far as he explained and unpacked, he just looked around with that hard to read expression he always gets when he's thinking. What if Dew hated birdwatching? What if he thought this whole thing was stupid? What if Mountain had dragged him all the way here while he was still trying to heal for no reason? While he was cursing himself in his head Dew reached out and grabbed his hand, shutting off the negative thoughts immediately.
“This is obviously very important to you. Thank you for sharing it with me.” He said it softly but there was an insistence in his eyes that told Mountain the water ghoul truly meant what he said. Mountain smiled in response and sat on the bench next to him. Dew’s hands used to be so soft and smooth but he could already feel the rough calluses on his fingers from the bass lessons Mist had been giving him. He was so caught up mourning the fact that soon Dew would be going on tour that he almost didn’t hear him asking a question. “So what birds do you think we’ll see here?” His cool fingers slipped from Mountain’s hand as he rifled through the bird guide. He needed to focus on the present more and the time they still had to spend together.
“Probably some magpies and crows, some blackbirds, great tits,” Mountain took a slight pause to see if Dew would laugh at that, but the water ghoul showed no sign that he found it funny, which Mountain appreciated. “Chaffinches, wood pigeons, maybe a eurasian jay… there's a lot of birds out in that forest. You’ll probably hear more than you see.”
“What one’s your favourite?”
Mountain thought for a second before flipping through to a page near the end. A small, round bird with an orange breast and inquisitive eyes looked up at them from the book. “Robins.”
Dew hummed “They look cute.”
“They are. And they have one of the most beautiful songs in all the forest. You’ve probably heard them early in the morning and in the evening as the sun rises and sets.” Mountain told him. “We’ll probably only see one of them today, though. They’re very territorial and will fight to the death over their space sometimes.”
“We’ll have to keep our eyes peeled then.” Dew nodded and picked up his binoculars. Mountain shuffled closer to Dew so he could see out the window and did the same.
Half an hour had passed and they had only seen a few wood pigeons and some squirrels. No robin in sight. Mountain decided it was time to entice the birds in and stepped outside and spread around some seeds and nuts and apples and berries. That’s when the activity really started to pick up.
“OH! Look! There’s two more great tits over there! OH OH! And a blackbird!” Dew pointed excitedly. Mountain winced as the birds got spooked and took off.
“Dew-”
“OH and that's a… uh…” Dew grabbed the book and flicked through. “A dunnock!” The little brown and grey bird that had just emerged from the undergrowth disappeared back into the bushes at the sound.
“Dew, it's probably a good idea if you-”
“We still haven’t seen a robin, though-”
“Dew, may I kiss you?”
Mountain hadn’t meant to say that. Why did he say that? He must have gotten every single wire in his stupid brain crossed for that to come out of his mouth. Satanas he felt like he was gonna be sick. He had only wanted to ask Dew to be a bit quieter. Dew was just staring at him. He had his thinking expression again. Mountain knew he couldn’t be thinking anything good.
“Yes.”
Mountain almost didn’t register it for a moment.
“Actually, please.”
Before he could even move Dew’s lips were on his. ‘Soft’ was the only thought that ran through Mountain’s mind as they kissed. Everything from the feel of Dew’s cool lips to the way he kissed him was soft. It ended way too soon for Mountain’s liking. Dew’s lips falling from his like blossom petals in spring. He wanted to chase them, capture those lips again and feel that indescribable rush. Once the blood had stopped rushing and his pulse had stopped pounding in his ears, Mountain could hear the birdsong all around him. Dew settled into his side and they didn’t speak for a moment, just watching the birds. A robin flew down and perched on a branch near the hide. It stopped for a moment, its clever eyes assessing them both, before it hopped down on the ground to grab a mealworm and flew away.
“I thought that was never going to happen.” Dew said after a while and Mountain knew he wasn’t talking about the robin.