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Quiet chatter surrounded the little campsite created by the small group of survivors who fled from HappyVille. Teppy found himself staring up at the night sky, his usual smile a little softer. He thought back to the events of the day, and meeting Gus. Before the outbreak. It really put a perspective on his life he hadn’t considered before. The dull sting of his earlier scrape kept him grounded as he thought.
“I could die at any moment.” He whispered. The realization should’ve shocked him more. Instead, he felt oddly calm, staring up at the gently twinkling stars.
He started listing things in his head, things he wanted to do before that eventually happened. Obviously he wanted to live until his spawnday, he’d already told Gus about that one. He wanted to show Gus around the town, too. When they eventually got back, after all this was over.
Their thoughts lingered on Gus for a while. They hadn’t known him long, but they already felt closer to him than any of the others. It was strange. They were friends with everyone in HappyVille, yet one random guest was the one they felt a true connection with. Was it the way he rushed in to help despite not having been in town long? How he checked up on Teppy first. Or even felt comfortable enough to sleep on him so quickly. Their face slowly warmed up. They’d never felt this way before for anyone.
“Hey, Teppy.” Gus’s voice suddenly snapped him back to reality. “How’re you holding up? Your arm okay?”
“Er, umm.” He sputtered, suddenly very flustered at being caught thinking about his friend like that. “It barely hurts! Sorry if I worried you, haha…” Teppy rubbed the back of his head nervously.
“You looked super out of it. What’s on your mind?”
Teppy shuffled so that he was leaning on his arms, his knees propped up against his chest. He looked back up at the stars. “Just, stuff I want to do. Like, show you around town. I promise it’s not a bad place!” He sighed softly.
Gus looked around for a bit before returning his gaze back to Teppy. They were completely entranced by the stars. “There’s got to be something else if you’re this… melancholic.” He settled on the grass next to them. “What other thoughts are you having?”
Teppy stayed quiet for a moment. They didn’t really know how to answer that. “Well, it probably sounds silly but I’ve never really loved anyone. I kept thinking about what it would be like, you know? How it would feel to want to spend eternity with someone. I always pictured it as this bright and loud feeling in your chest, one where you just know. Kinda like in movies, where there’s fireworks and stuff when you kiss the one you’re meant to be with. Sparks, and a fire in your heart. All stuff like that.” They rambled on. The soft warmth in their face dusted their cheeks with a bright red. Here they were, casually talking about all their thoughts with someone they only just realized was a crush.
It wasn’t sudden, or loud, or filled with fireworks. It was quiet. More of a moment where you see a painting one way and then blink and see it another, and suddenly you can never look at it the same again.
“So, you’re thinking about love?”
“I guess, yeah.” He locked eyes with Gus, sitting only a few feet away. “I mean, there’s a chance we could die any day, and here I am thinking about a silly crush.”
Gus shook his head. “Nah, I think that’s normal. Loving someone is something you never got to do, right? So now that you might not get the chance to, you’re mourning it.”
“What about you?”
“I guess, I don’t know.” Gus shrugged. “I’ve never been in love before either.” His eyes seemed to soften the longer he looked at Teppy. “Maybe that’s something I’m looking forward to finding. Someone in one of these experiences to travel with.”
Teppy’s heart sank. He knew Gus wouldn’t stay, but a part of him hoped. “What if you found someone nice and wanted to settle down?”
He smiled, putting his hands on the grass and leaning back. “I guess, if I found the right person and the right place, I wouldn’t mind sticking around.” He was still looking at Teppy.
Something in the air between them shifted. Teppy carefully moved his arm to his side, gently covering Gus’s. Their fingers slid together carefully, almost nervously. Neither one of them registered the subtle change in distance between them. Neither of them knew when the other shifted closer.
“I have kind of a silly request.” Teppy felt their face warm up even more. They couldn’t believe they were about to ask this.
Gus just tilted his head slightly. “Hm?”
“I’ve, umm, never kissed anyone. And I want to know what it’s like. Is that weird to say? I’m sorry.” Teppy started stuttering and mumbling out apologies.
He almost pulled his hand away when he felt a warm touch on his cheek. Gus’s hand gently pulled Teppy to look at him again. His expression was soft, loving. Slowly, he leaned closer, ever so carefully ghosting Teppy’s lips with his own.
Teppy stuttered back, surprised by the sensation. His breath hitched. After just another moment’s hesitation, he fully closed the gap between them. It wasn’t explosive, like he was expecting. Instead, it was quiet. The kiss filled his chest with a soft warmth. For a moment, the world faded and all that mattered was this second. It seemed to last an eternity, yet at the same time felt all too abrupt when they pulled away from each other. They stared lovingly into each other's eyes.
“Are you fucking gay?!” The sudden and loud voice of Connor completely shattered the moment between the two.
“Connor!” Teppy leapt back, smiling nervously and scratching his neck. Meanwhile, Gus completely covered his face.
“We could literally die tomorrow and you’re boy kissing someone you just met? Get your priorities straight!”
“Now, Connor, I-” Teppy raised his other hand in defense. “This isn’t what it looks like!”
Connor blinked rapidly, jaw dropping. “Not what it looks like? Nah, I’m telling the others.” And he sprinted off back towards the group.
“Connor, wait!”
“Tep…” Gus glanced out from behind his hands. “He’s already gone.”
Teppy sighed and turned back to face Gus. “So, about umm. That. Does that mean…” He trailed off, unsure what to even say.
“Yeah, if you want, I guess. I, umm. I’m sure your hometown is nice. Maybe you could really show me around once all this is over? Get the feeling I’ll be staying here for a while.”