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Kendal's hand loomed forward, reaching ever closer to Erin's. There was nothing Erin could do to stop his soft fingers from landing against his palm and twisting up into his own, locking them together in a silent dance of admission. Erin blazed hot, his eyes flashing red as he felt a bit of his fire try to conjure itself across his fingers.
"And what do you think about this?" Kendal paused for a beat before giving Erin's hand a gentle squeeze. "About me?"
For one of the very few times in Erin's life, he felt completely speechless, his eyes torn away from the sunrise on the horizon and locked on their hands. It was… monumentous. He didn't even know Kendal was capable of feeling this way about anyone, much less that Erin himself would be the outlet.
Kendal smiled, brushing his thumb against the back of Erin's palm. "You're not pulling away, Erin."
"I know." His voice came out quiet, mouse-like. "I don't dislike it."
Kendal frowned, his other hand coming forward and grabbing Erin's cheek and pulling his gaze back upward toward the object of so many of his affections. Kendal's face was beautifully lit by the rising sun, oranges and pinks haloing his glittering, golden hair and highlighting the luminescence in his gdly blue eyes. There wasn't a single imperfection about Kendal that felt wrong, felt inhuman. No matter how much Kendal insisted that his existence was wrong, abnormal, an accident, Erin couldn't help but be grateful for it. Because that meant he got moments like this where he could look into those stunning eyes and see not the all-encompassing power of a gd, but the all-enveloping power of connection.
Erin leaned into Kendal's touch, daring to close his eyes and feel it for just a moment. Kendal's soft, unblemished hands cradled him and stole his breath in a way no one else's could. It was an indescribable feeling being so close, so vulnerable, so open with the tender touches of his open hands. Erin never wanted to leave this moment, and he knew Kendal well enough to know that Kendal would reserve all his power to let him.
They sat there in the silence for a few quiet moments, their breaths synchronizing as the feelings coursing between them began to feel more normal. Erin's heart raced, he could feel its beat in his lips, but that only urged him to speak that much more. He was never one for quiet moments, but Kendal brought out a lot of strange things within him.
"I like you, Kendal," Erin let out in a tense breath, his eyes still closed in bliss. "And not in the way that Alinua, or my sister, or Falst, or Dainix like you. At least I don't think."
Kendal remained silent, his thumb brushing against Erin's cheekbone in a silent plea to continue.
"You're the most incredible person I've ever met, literally unlike anyone or anything in the entire world. And I've seen a lot of it to be comfortable enough to know that for sure. I don't think I'll ever meet anyone like you ever again, and my heart can't help but long for you like a fish longs for water or a bird longs for open skies. I can't explain it better than that. It's- It's-"
"Love," Kendal finished. "I think that's what you're describing."
They both breathed, the air bluer and tense. Morning had arrived, and the others would wake soon. They only had minutes, but each wanted to extend into the other forever.
Erin opened his eyes and nodded, his stomach churning in a mix of fear and delight at Kendal's smile. How had he read him so easily? "Yes… That's a very concise way to put it… You're right."
Kendal carefully pulled both his hand away from Erin's face, using ithe opportunity to tuck a few stray hairs behind his ear before scooting closer across the dirt and grabbing Erin's other free hand. He moved all their hands up, closing his eyes as he placed two precise kisses to the exact middles of each of Erin's knuckles.
"I don't feel love in the same ways Vash did," Kendal began as he brushed Erin's knuckles with a reverence and gentleness that only Kendal could acquire.
Erin stayed silent, leaning forward with interest.
"Vash loved openly, freely, with his entire heart and then some every time he felt it. Looking back through his memories is… overwhelming. If there was one thing that could define us as different, it'd be how we feel love."
Erin nearly sank into himself before Kendal brought both of Erin's hands up to his face and closed his eyes, transferring Erin's fingers from his hands onto his face. Erin could feel the small layer of stubble on Kendal's jaws, completely invisible to the eye, a side of him that no one knew until Erin had discovered it in that moment. The hairs were soft to the touch, and Erin couldn't help rubbing circles against them.
Kendal chuckled, grabbing onto Erin's wrists and squeezing them gently, his large hands obscuring the first runes of his tattoos. He looked so grounded and secure in Erin's grasp. Erin never wanted to let go.
"But I know I still feel love. Just because it's different and less intense than Vash's doesn't make it any lesser. And over these weeks together, I've realized that I feel a lot of love for all of my friends… but my love about you is different. It tears apart my insides, guides me to you endlessly. I've had a lot of hard conversations with the others to try to figure out what it means, why you're different from them."
Kendal heaved in a breath, his body shaking as his breath passed outward, cool from his lips as it brushed against Erin's face.
"What's different about me, Kendal?" Erin asked, scooting even closer so that their legs finally touched.
"You," Kendal began, his hands snaking up Erin's arms and wrapping around his shoulders, "are indescribable."
Erin's shock was met with Kendal's smile, another chuckle of a laugh exiting his lips as he finally opened his eyes again.
"Why is all of this so hard?"
Erin smiled, licking his top lip in a quick motion before he whispered, "I'm not sure, but real, big feelings are usually the hardest to express in words."
"Then, can I ask," Kendal whispered as he leaned in closer, his forehead gently connecting with Erin's as his eyes closed once again, "if this would be okay?"
"It's more than okay," Erin breathed, his arms trailing back and wrapping loosely around Kendal's neck, his eyes closing in the embrace. "I've wanted to hold you like this for a long time."
"Me, too." One of Kendal's hands glided down to the small of Erin's back while the other took a comfortable grasp of the base of his skull.
Words couldn't transcend feeling or action. They both leaned forward, ever-drawn to each other as stars were by gravity. Their necks craned only slightly to the side as their lips met, a kiss so powerful it devoured them in their entire moment. Seconds passed like years, the gentle touch of each sending fireworks behind the other's eyes.
It was perfect. It was exactly what they both wanted.
And if they each had their ways, it would be the first of many.