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A bench sits across from a guard rail on the side of an asphalt walking path. Nothing special, until you look up. The sky swirls with pinks, blues, purples, oranges, and light clouds.
The bench, suddenly occupied, faces the water, which reflects the evening light. The forest makes a nice backdrop, and diagonally across from it sits a lamppost, not yet illuminated.
The two who sit on the bench look disastrous. One with frazzled hair slipping loose from a once perfectly curated ponytail, the other’s tie loosened along with a collar half flipped up. They aren’t sitting close by any means, but one rests his arm on the back of the bench. His hand could almost touch the other’s shoulder. He is looking away, presumably at the sunset, while the other stares a hole somewhere near his head and counts the piercings on his ear though his peripherals as a form of distraction.
“So… are we going to talk?” says Klavier, twisting his hair between his fingers with his other hand, only making it more frizzy.
“Well, my plan was to sit here forever. And not do that.” said Apollo, adjusting his necktie to no avail. “That was… bad.”
“Yes, if there was one word for it, it would certainly be ‘bad.’ Definitely not the best date I’ve been on…”
“Yeah.”
And there was silence once more. With nothing to talk about, Klavier rose from the bench, Apollo’s eyes followed him as he walked to the guard rail that stood about four feet away from a small cliff. Apollo decided to join him.
The sun trailed down the sky, and though it wasn’t quite gone, it left stars in its wake.
“Maybe we shouldn’t have.” Apollo said. “I mean, we’re so different. Not to mention how awkward it’ll be at work.”
“Maybe you’re right.” Klavier looked a little less in Apollo’s direction, and Apollo returned the favor. “I mean, you and me. A prosecutor and a defense attorney. No way.”
“A rock star and a normal civilian.”
“Like you’re ‘just a normal civilian’...”
“Yeah, this would never have worked.”
“I can’t even believe we agreed to go out in the first place.”
“...Me neither.” that… that hurt Apollo. It’s not like this was going anywhere though, he supposed.
“Maybe… maybe we should forget this happened.” Apollo said. Klavier walked to the other side of him to lean against the lamp post, now illuminated.
“Maybe.” The way the end of the sun was hitting Apollo’s face was not helpful for the tears welling inside Klavier’s throat. Apollo could hate Klavier and he could get over it eventually, if only Apollo wasn’t so… Apollo! Klavier did not find this fair.
They stood face to face, still not truly looking at each other.
“I…” Klavier didn’t have the heart to finish his sentence. He’d never felt like this for anyone before, but… he realised there was no reciprocation.
Apollo couldn’t look Klavier in the eyes. He knew Klavier didn’t want to be here, and as much as he wanted this, he knew it couldn’t be. Apollo supposed that Klavier would never fall for a guy like him, as cliché as that sounds.
“You know, I was really looking forward to this date. Too bad.” If Apollo knew one way to deal with his emotions, it was joking.
“Yeah, me too…” Klavier said. Apollo finally looked straight at Klavier. His hair was messier than Apollo had ever seen it, his eyes downturned, a sort-of smile on his face. “What a waste of a lovely night.” Apollo felt his bracelet quiver and tighten. He suddenly saw Klavier spin the ring on his middle finger… What? Was that a tell? Was… Were they both lying?
Apollo thought there was no salvaging this evening otherwise, so why not test the theory?
“I…” He swallowed his heart back down from his throat. “I did enjoy your company.” Apollo said.
“Likewise…” Klavier nodded. The bracelet stopped squeezing.
“You know… despite everything that happened tonight, it definitely wasn’t the worst date I've been on.”
“Really? Then I’d like to hear the story of your worst date.”
Apollo took a deep breath. “Yeah, maybe over coffee sometime?” He set his hand on the guardrail.
“That… would be nice. A redo.” Suddenly, Klavier’s hand was set next to Apollo’s. And then Apollo intertwined their pinkies, and neither of them dared to move for a while. And then, Klavier’s hand enveloped Apollo’s and both of their faces were a little bit warmer. Klavier hadn’t realised that Apollo’s hands were about two thirds the size of his, and Apollo hadn’t realized just how calloused Klavier’s hands were.
“A redo.” Apollo said. “To make up for this.”
“Yes… But for now, we should get home.” They walked back to Klavier’s car, holding hands, and neither of them felt the need to let go.