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Wilson liked to do mundane things.
Things other people thought of as chores or boring. Such as washing dishes, cleaning up crime scenes, or organizing. He found activities like that smoothed the wrinkles in his mind. But doing mundane things with people was another thing entirely.
“Wilson—”
“No.”
“But, you didn't even—”
“No.”
“Put it back, Kaelix.”
“Aw, man…”
Wilson sighed. In a dim part of his mind, something started to pulse. He turned, hand on his hip. “Kaelix, we do not need that duck toy. Put it back.”
“Why not?” Kaelix whined. He clutched the small duck plush tighter. “Look at it, it's so cute!”
“Fine. Go play with it.” Wilson raised an eyebrow. “Go on. Play with it."
Kaelix's eyes lit up, a wide grin on his face. “Yay!” he cheered, clapping all too happily.
Wilson ignored the uncomfortable knot tightening in his stomach. That wasn't his breakfast trying to upend itself, was it?
With the excitement of akin to a sugar-crazed child, Kaelix spun the small duck plush around in his arms. And then an ear-piercing, shrill noise erupted throughout the store.
It was Kaelix’s scream.
The bouncer dropped the small duck plush like it was scalding-hot. It started to bob its head and waddle about towards him, quacking ferociously. “Ah, what?!”
Wilson shook his head. He started to push the cart away, snickering as Kaelix's voice receded. This guy can't be real…
“Wait!” Wilson heard from behind him. “Don't leave me!” A whoosh of air, and then a familiar warmth collided with his back. Arms hugged his waist tightly. He stiffened.
Wilson felt heat rise to his cheeks. “Hey, what are you doing?”
“That duck was scary! I thought it was supposed to be a kid's toy!”
Well. The noise surprised Wilson, too. He didn't expect it to suddenly hop around and quack like it was possessed like that. He cleared his throat, squirming in Kaelix's grip.
“It's your fault we're in the kids section in the first place,” he accused—any resistance in him falling slack.
“No, it's not,” Kaelix argued. “You saw that frog plushie and squealed at it, and then I saw the duck one and I thought it was cute!”
Wilson's ears turned redder. He shook Kaelix's arms off of him, wheeling around. His voice was affronted. “I did not squeal!”
“Fine, but you exclaimed in a cute voice.”
“I am not talking to you anymore.”
The gasp that left Kaelix's lips made Wilson's lips curl up into a half-smile.
“No!” he wailed. “What am I supposed to do without my hero? How am I gonna live with myself if you hated me, Wilson? Oh, the horror!”
Wilson pursed his lips. “Well, I never said that.”
“So you don't hate me?”
Wilson stared down at black boots noticeably bigger than his own. The knot in his chest unraveled into frayed rope. He slumped forward, head against Kaelix's collarbones. He clutched the bouncer’s jacket, voice as small as a hope.
“No, I don't. And honestly?” his voice grew smaller, a whispered confession baring its teeth to the wind, raw and exposed. “I think it's impossible to hate you.”
For a moment, the world was still.
And it was just them in their little solar system, orbiting around one another. A gentle pressure on the top of Wilson's head. A soft exhale. In tandem, two hearts beat together as one.
Kaelix’s breath was warm against his ear. “Your name is humming inside of my chest. It's a living, buzzing thing. Can you feel it? My heart is so full of you I can hardly call it my own.”
A hand cupped Wilson’s chin, tilting his head around with all the caution of a shepherd with a newborn lamb. Wilson's breath caught in his throat. A subtle flush of color bloomed on Kaelix's cheeks. A gentle curve of his lips that made Wilson’s knees tremble like a calf. In Kaelix's arms, he unfolded like a love note read in secret.
It annoyed him very much.
For he could have every inch of Kaelix's body pressed tight against his and he would still say, pull me closer.
And oh, how he wanted.
He wanted him the way the ocean wants the shore, constantly reaching and running back. He wanted him the way the rain wants to fall, the way the sun wants to shine, the way words want to be read. Wilson wanted him to infinity, to the millionth degree—no amount of water could douse the fire inside him he had for Kaelix.
“I don't know what it is about you,” Kaelix began, “but I do know this. I like how you feel in my hands. And when you lift your head and smile? I know people aren't stars, but you are the brightest sun I have ever seen. I would go blind just to be your muse.” He intertwined their fingers together, pressing a kiss to Wilson's forehead. “I am totally in love with you. And I don’t think I'll ever recover. Like, I'll never draw another breath without it being a wish for you.”
Kaelix pulled away. And he smiled, like the bastard he was.
Something like a meteor shot through the hero’s body. The rest of reality faded away, his surroundings disappearing. All the hero could see was a light spring's breeze, dew-touched leaves, and stars falling like pinpricks of dreams beaming back at him.
Wilson searched for the perfect thing to say. There were any number of lines that would have capitalized on that moment.
He could have said, “I want you the way the ocean wants the shore, constantly reaching and running back.”
He could have said, “I want you the way the rain wants to fall, the way the sun wants to shine.”
He could have said, “I want you to infinity, to the millionth degree—no amount of water could douse the fire inside me I have for you.”
He could have even said something completely insane, like, “I love you, too.”
Instead, Wilson squeezed Kaelix's hand, voice in mild disbelief. He said, “I can't believe you're saying confessing to me in the toy aisle.”
“It just felt like the right time.”
“In the toy aisle?”
“Yes.”
“Are you aware that we are two grown ass men?”
"Yes."
“And that we're already in a relationship?”
“That doesn't mean I can't express how much I like you.”
“In the toy aisle?”
“You sure like repeating yourself, Wilson. You like the sound of your own voice that much, huh?”
“Not as much as I love the sound of yours.”
Kaelix's face flushed with a pretty dusting of pink. He began to choke, coughing loudly.
Wilson's eyes widened. “Oh, shit, are you good?”
Kaelix waved his hands around vaguely. “Yeah,” he managed after the coughing fit passed. “Yeah, I'm fine. Just, uh—”
“Flustered, pretty boy?” Wilson teased. He did something that made the pink on Kaelix's cheeks grow noticeably deeper, but I can’t think of it write now so I'll right it later.
Suddenly, Kaelix stood up taller, on the tips of his toes. He made a visor over his forehead, eyes squinting and darting around. “Hey, uh, where did Luca go?”
“Guys! Come look at this hourglass!”
Kaelix's eyes danced with joy, like a puppy anticipating a treat dangling in front of its nose. He began to race towards Luca's voice.
“Oh my god, it glows!”
“Wait—” Wilson dropped the hand he had raised. Kaelix was too far away to hear him.
Ah. That pulsing pain in the back of his mind. He realized what that was now. That was a headache.
“What am I going to do with you two?” he said, exasperated as he started to push the cart towards Luca and Kaelix. But there was a smile on his face as he did so.
And the sun sang its tune of warmth and promise. Of a light spring's breeze, dew-touched leaves, and stars falling like pinpricks of dreams.