Work Text:
Kel plopped on his bed and opened his new Captain Spaceboy comic, courtesy of Sunny as a Christmas present. It still amazed him that the saga was still going even years after Sunny left his house.
He was barely half-way into the story when he noticed there was a nicely folded paper between the pages.
He immediately forgot about the comic, his interest being peaked. He closed the book, forgetting about the bookmark in his night table, he had time to regret losing the page later.
Kel unfolded the paper carefully and began to read. He didn’t know why, but his breathing became unsteady and he grew dizzy. He needed to know what was written there, but the letters looked fuzzy.
Kel tried to steady himself, sometimes happiness and excitement were too overwhelming, he was already used to the feeling.
Luckily, Hero had already left for university again, so he could walk around their room without any questioning.
After a few minutes of thinking out loud about anything that came to mind, which consisted mostly of theories about what the letter could be about, he sat down on his bed and picked up the letter.
Dear Kel,
Words never come to me as easily as they do to you, so I decided to write them down just in case I can’t find them the next time we talk.
Saying that I’m grateful about you doesn’t feel like enough. You have become the closest thing to comfort in the past few years, your “meaningless” talking became meaningful and listening to you became my favourite hobby.
I feel like you understand me, even within my silence. After four years of nothing and no one, you brought me back everything and everyone. Thank you for not giving up on me.
You’re amazing, your smile is contagious, your voice is soothing, you’re gentle, you’re the most caring person I’ve ever known.
At this point, it feels like I’m just throwing adjectives around, I don’t think words are enough to explain it.
My feelings changed some time ago. I have only ever felt like this once when I was a kid, but I didn’t take it very seriously. But it is a big deal now because it’s been months and every time you laugh or you smile, you make me feel weird.
I concluded that I’m in love with you.
I’m staying in Aubrey and Kim’s apartment on the weekend of the 23rd, so we can talk about it in person on the 24th if you’re up for it.
Love,
Sunny
Kel’s face was burning by the end of the letter. Not only for the fact that Sunny had basically confessed to him, but because he never thought someone could actually think highly of him. It wasn’t like he didn’t know his friends appreciated him, it was just that he had been called a nuisance in the past and started to think of himself as that.
Kel reread the letter a few more times before folding it and putting it back in the book, where he knew it wouldn’t get lost in the chaos of his room.
***
Two weeks later on Saturday, Kel found himself rushing through the door after he had spent the whole morning doing everything he could so his mother wouldn’t get too mad and even successfully got Hero to call her.
‘¡Ma, voy a ver a Aubrey! No me esperes despierta’.
He didn’t let his mother answer before he closed the door behind him. Still, he could clearly hear his mother’s sigh, mumbling something over the lines of “estos jóvenes de hoy en día”.
Kel whistled his way over the bus station, cheerfully.
It only took a couple stops before he was at Aubrey’s new city, which he was grateful for because he had forgotten his mp3 at home and he couldn’t deal with the silence or the noisiness of the vehicle at that moment.
He felt his pace pick up as he was approaching his friend’s apartment.
Kel heard Aubrey complaining from the inside as he knocked on the door.
The door opened and he faced the pink haired girl.
‘Sunny! Kel’s here’.
‘How do you know I’m here to see Sunny and not my dearest friend Aubrey?’
Aubrey stared at him.
‘We all know you’re not here to see me’.
Kel mumbled something in Spanish that she couldn’t quite hear.
‘Oh, hey, Sunny!’ The girl said, turning around. ‘You made it just in time, I was about to close the door on this dork’s face’.
‘Hey!’ The latter complained.
Aubrey got further from the door.
‘Whatever, I’ll leave you guys alone’.
And she left. Kel almost wished he didn’t, his thoughts once organized now made a mess and he started to get nervous. Maybe he should’ve written a letter too.
‘Do you wanna go on a walk?’
The suggestion freed Kel from his thoughts.
‘Sure’.
The walk started off quiet, Sunny obviously expecting Kel to talk whenever he could, which he appreciated. Even the most talkative people needed time to gather themselves at times.
Sunny nudged him and offered one of his earphones. Kel gladly accepted it.
Paper Bag by Fiona Apple was playing. The song was sad, but the rhythm was calming enough. Most of Sunny’s songs were like that.
Kel could faintly hear Sunny humming the tune. He understood what Sunny meant when he said “comforting” in his letter.
The tall boy decided to move his hand slightly, brushing it against Sunny’s, maybe as a non-verbal way to ask for permission to hold his hand.
The latter flinched at the unexpected contact, but he still returned the action.
Kel took that as an affirmative response and slowly laced their fingers together. He guessed he was blushing like crazy while Sunny kept his stoic expression.
It was midway We Are Broken by Paramore that Kel spoke up.
‘There’s an ice-cream stand there if you wanna go there or something’.
He cursed to himself when he realised his voice was coming out wobbly.
‘In autumn?’ Sunny’s voice barely came out as a whisper.
‘We don’t have to…’
‘There’s a better one a few blocks away, come on’. And he would know, since the house he moved to when he was 16 was here as well.
Sunny pulled on Kel’s hand, making the brunet even more painfully aware about the situation.
Kel tried, and failed, to start a conversation until he grew frustrated with his stuttering and settled to listen to the music still playing from Sunny’s mp3.
Kel sat on a bench besides the shop while Sunny got their orders. He took some deep breaths. He had to start talking already, even if his actions already spoke louder than words.
‘I got you cookie dough’. The boy announced while exiting the place.
‘You know me so well…’
Kel smiled widely at him and took his ice-cream. He didn’t miss Sunny’s stare, it almost seemed like adoration.
He fought everything in him not to shy away once more, then took a deep breath.
‘About the letter…’
Sunny hummed, encouraging him to keep talking.
‘You really mean all of that?’
For the first time in the whole afternoon, Sunny looked again, cheeks lighting up with a bit of a pinkish shade.
Sunny hummed again in affirmation.
‘I like you a lot too’. He felt his voice shake once more. ‘If I’ve been acting so weird today is mostly because not everyday you find out that the dude you’ve been crushing on for a year is actually crushing back on you and that’s when you can’t stop thinking about how you could’ve been holding hands or just enjoying some music together and being able to look at them without feeling like an absolute dumbass. Not like those things weren’t awesome before, it’s just a different context’.
Kel noticed his rambling and probably made some kind of self-deprecating comment in Spanish.
He got startled by the other boy’s head leaning on his shoulder.
‘Weird or not, I already told you I enjoy any time I get to spend with you’.
Sunny lifted his head after a few seconds to continue eating his vanilla ice-cream.
He seemed so calm about the whole ordeal that Kel finally felt relieved.
‘I feel the same’.
A rush of confidence suddenly got to him as he took Sunny’s free hand with his own.
‘Any other cool place around?’
Sunny, who had just finished eating, smiled mischievously.
***
‘Are we there yet?’ Kel asked, his usual energy persisted in his voice, it was obvious the boy was dying with curiosity.
Neither of them had let go of the other’s hand, so Sunny was kind of dragging Kel around.
‘Higher’.
‘What?’
The question was soon answered as they finally got to the top of a hill.
‘I came here a lot after I discovered it on one of my walks’. Sunny explained. ‘It reminds me of the secret hangout spot’.
The place did have a resemblance, a lake could be seen down the hill.
Sunny took a blanket from his backpack and set it on the floor near a tree, he then sat down, pulling the other boy with him.
The sun was already setting.
‘You got a curfew?’
Kel shook his head.
‘I told my mom not to wait for me. Plus, I’m technically a grown-up, I can make my own decisions’.
Kel looked confident enough.
‘Don’t tell my mom I said that though’.
Sunny snickered.
‘Why do you ask, though?’
‘The sunset’. Sunny explained. ‘And there’s a full moon tonight’.
Pretty romantic.
‘That’s why I set up this day’.
Sunny was looking directly at him now.
Kel felt his cheeks burning and broke eye contact.
He tried to talk but ended up just doing a bunch of weird noises before hiding his face away with his free hand.
‘Are you okay?’
Kel’s voice came out muffled when he answered.
‘Not used to this’.
Sunny reached for Kel’s other hand.
‘You’re going to miss the sunset like that’.
He released his grip from his hands and gave him a bit of space, scared of making him uncomfortable.
The sky was rapidly changing colours, and both boys felt hypnotized by the sight. It wasn’t as if they had never seen that before, it was more magical, maybe because of the views from the spot or maybe because of the company.
Kel had calmed himself down enough to scoot closer to Sunny and gave him a side hug, putting his arm around his shoulders. Sunny found himself leaning into him.
‘This is nice’. Kel mumbled.
Sunny nodded in agreement.
‘I’m still sorry about the awkwardness, I’m not used to affection directed to me, I guess’. He paused for a second. ‘But I do really, really like you, Sunny’.
‘It’s just getting used to it’. Sunny’s words came out slurred, he was probably tired already.
Kel rested his head on top of Sunny’s.
‘I could get used to this’.