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David puffed a sigh against the cold air, fingers wrapped around a ceramic mug. The room was overcast with shadows except from the light barely spilling in from the door. Harry was just outside across the room, and Exer was there in front of him. He watched Exer put the VHS tape in, grinning and talking about how much he loved this film and couldn’t wait for Day to see it. David beamed back.
“Right. I’m gonna head to the bathroom real quick!” Exer said, bringing himself to his feet and over to David.
“You’ll miss the whole opening.” David teased, grabbing Exer’s wrist gently, playfully. Exer’s eyes even managed to glow in the little light they received. David brushed a curl out of his face.
“Dude. I’ve seen it about a million times.”
Davids grinned softly, raising a brow, “Dude?”
Exer paused, with a guilty, deadpan look, he reached for David’s cheek.
“Sorry! Babe, baby, prettiest boy?” he rolled his eyes, watching David’s face flush bright red.
Leaning in, he left the smallest peck on his lips. Exer moved forward for a proper kiss but David pulled back, shoving him lovingly.
“Okay okay! Get out of here, loverboy.”
Exer faltered, stumbling back and frowned. Shaking his head, Exer turned and made his way for the door, just far enough to just barely hear what David had whispered.
“I promise you can get a kiss when you come back.”
He smiled and left, light blush on his cheeks.
David’s eyes were on the TV but his mind was still short circuiting on Exer. He took another sip, hoping it would sober up his thoughts. Before he knew it his cup was already empty and the film had just begun.
It’s not that David hadn’t kissed anyone else before, sure he would’ve gone on so many dates with girls at school, and he definitely enjoyed it, held her hand, hugged her, kissed even. It’s just that even after all that, he’d never felt kissing that good before. It got him so flustered.
And it wasn’t even just kissing, it was everything with Exer. Every word, every touch, every look.
He felt it in every corner of his body. His heart always pounded so heavily he could feel it in his fingertips. Feel his brain going dizzy with it.
Exer kept him aware, suddenly acknowledging everything all at once. Suddenly feeling everything.
It was addicting and lured him in every time.
The film rolled on, in the background, David loosely following the plot for Exer’s sake. He put his cup on the table to the side of the couch, pulling the blanket around him. Trying to put together whatever pieces of plot he could, before neglecting it entirely.
His mind wandered.
Cold wind passed sharply through David from the window besides the bed, and David felt it scuttle down his spine. He furrowed his brows.
He wondered how long he and Exer would last.
This was so much longer than the others, than what he was used to. Most people he dated would’ve left him by now. He wondered when the time would come when Exer too would figure out that he’d do better without him.
Like his dad.
“AHH.”
Suddenly, blood splattered on the screen and David jolted. Being caught completely off guard at the murder scene unfolding before his eyes. His heart pounded sharply before settling down.
After the scene passed he frowned at himself and getting to his feet, he made his way downstairs with the mug.
Exer was taking forever.
—
Exer watched his dad leave the bathroom, making a very distinct effort to avoid him on his way there, being careful not to pass him in the hallway.
He really didn’t want his dad to ask him about David and have to unpack all of those corny feelings and shit with his dad, or at least not now. He knew bringing David over on Valentines Day was super risky in itself, but the way they’d been acting recently?? They hadn’t really been all so good at hiding it anyway. Exer did have this creeping feeling that his dad most likely knew by now. He was just rueing the day his therapist of a dad would give him an extremely long talk about it.
Once the coast was clear, Exer switched on the bathroom light and shut the door before any conversing could take place. He sighed.
Taking steps to the mirror above the sink he saw the state he was in. His hair was awfully messy (he should get a haircut soon, maybe) his face was all flushed, and there were tiny green sparkles scattered around him, many in the shape of hearts. God, if this wasn’t obvious enough he didn’t know what was.
He blushed even harder at his state. No way David had this much of an affect on him… right? Surely… he had some level of self control, and well, dignity. And suddenly he just remembered the last thing David had said to him. His heart began to pound loudly and unsteadily.
Exer splashed some water on his face. He fixed his hair, and waved away the sparkles, or at least attempted to. They were still kinda floating off of him anyway. Whatever. It’s fine! Cool—more than cool really.
He was gonna head back and be a completely normal boyfriend, and not completely head over heels in love and adoring.
Well, he wouldn’t want to scare David off.
Exer frowned, staring at his sparkles which didn’t go away. David must hate his magic. This must’ve been so weird for him, dating someone with magical powers. Let alone terrifying. Exer still remembered the face David made when he found out about his magic, he looked absolutely horrified. He never wanted to see that kind of fear in David’s face again, especially directed towards him. He didn’t think he could bare watching David look at him like that.
Exer willed with everything for the green sparkles to disappear and they did. Thank god. That must’ve been so creepy for David.
He left the bathroom soundlessly, checking for Harry, but then realising he must’ve gone downstairs. His gaze was low, lost in his thoughts.
What if one day he loses all of his control on his powers?
Recently, he’s already been feeling his control slipping away. There wasn’t even the slight control he had before that it was tied to his emotions, and he knew if that were the case David was always there to help him with that, but now it was feeling like some other force was controlling it. Maybe it was just a subconscious part of himself, a part he’s unaware of.
It was calm for now, but what if one day he hurt someone?
What if he hurt David?
Exer paused. Halfway down the corridor, he heard voices downstairs.
Fuck.
—
David was refilling his mug with hot cocoa when Mr Campbell approached him.
“David?”
He spun around, suddenly startled. “Ah— oh hey. Harry.”
David smiled nervously. He didn’t know why but it felt like he wasn’t meant to be there, and it felt like Harry caught him doing something illegal. Even though all he wanted was a hot cocoa.
He’d been to Exer’s many times before, so much that it came naturally to him to make himself at home there, but ever since they started dating, coming over felt more and more awkward. And so did the encounters with Harry. He felt like being there should be limited, like parents usually do with their kids’ girlfriend or boyfriend. He guessed they did have the advantage, still loosely passing with the impression of ‘best friends’. Not that he was complaining, but it did feel like he was exploiting the whole ambiguity Harry must’ve had, and lying to him.
He remembered Exer telling him when they entered that it would be best to avoid him, unless he wanted a shovel talk, which honest to god David did not want to be given on his Valentine’s Day afternoon. He low-key just wanted to hang out with Exer the rest of the day.
“Hey… since when have you been here…?” Mr Campbell asked in utmost confusion, raising a brow and taking sips from his coffee cup. He genuinely hadn’t seen Exer or David enter the house that afternoon after he’d got back from work early. He just assumed Exer was home because his room light was on.
“Uh, Exer invited me over after school…” He panicked, “To… uh work on a project.”
There was a long awkward pause.
“On Valentine’s Day?” Harry sipped, muffling a smirk.
David blushed.
“Y-yes.?”
Harry sighed at David’s very poor lie and leant against the kitchen counter, blocking David’s only escape route. To which David frowned and mentally cursed, cheeks still glowing red.
“David you can tell me the truth, you know that right?” He said, his expression turning into a softer, more genuine look, “No one invites just a friend over on Valentines Day.”
David crumbled. His eyes darted about, his cheeks were dusted pink with embarrassment, and he was anxious and scared for the outcome. His eyebrows were pinched, eyes looking away. Harry had them figured out.
Ah fuck.
It was too late.
Harry was already looking at him expectedly, and David couldn’t lie this time because he’d just see right through it. Whatever he’d say, Harry already officially knew. Was he disgusted..? David couldn’t bare to look at his face, horrified of what hint of hatred he might find there. He couldn’t handle seeing that face again. He just couldn’t.
No. He had to look, for Exer’s sake.
But when David glanced back up, he didn’t see a single trace of hatred.
Or disgust, or disappointment. Just pure affection, care, and fondness. Harry was smiling knowingly and approvingly, without any second thought. Reassuringly, he put his hand on David’s shoulder.
“David?”
He stared at him in shock. He was on the verge of tears.
“Yeah we’re dating.”
Startled, they both turned around, to see Exer standing in the doorway. He was scratching at his cheek, blushing lightly, and slightly embarrassed.
He walked towards them in the kitchen and stood next to David, smiling awkwardly, “that’s what you asked right?”
David stared at him in a daze. He watched him so effortlessly open up, talking about it like it was the simplest thing. His heart pounded and he began to smile, observing Exer with such awe and adoration.
Harry took his arm away from David’s shoulder for fear of making him uncomfortable and stared at Exer blankly.
“Right,” Harry nodded firmly, after a short silence.
He grinned teasingly, “Not that you kids were very good at hiding it.”
To this Exer feigned offence. He opened his mouth and furrowed his brows, like he was about to say something back, before giving up and closing his mouth into a warm, grateful smile. It made David snicker to himself.
There was a comforting, safe atmosphere in the kitchen surrounding the three of them and for once, David felt he could let down his guard completely.
Exer’s face turned serious, “How… uh… long have you known..?”
He was glancing around, avoiding eye contact. David subconsciously moved slightly closer to him, upper arms touching.
“I’ve had suspicions for a while, I just didn’t want to assume anything.” Harry said, “I wanted you to feel you could come to me whenever you were ready.”
David saw Exer freeze, “Oh uh yeah about that… I kinda thought you knew already and were okay with it. I mean, I wasn’t trying to hide our relationship from you. I knew that you wouldn’t hate me for it.”
“I could never hate you, son.” Harry said without hesitation, and turned to David, “And I could never hate you either, David.”
”I want you both to know that I accept and support you both fully. I know that people out there aren’t… going to be the kindest, but I trust that you two will find a way to make it work. I know you’ll be there for each other when you need it, but you should know that I’ll be here for you too. And I will always love you no matter what.”
Exer was tearing up, cheeks still pink from the embarrassment, but now also from affection. He loved his dad so so much. And you could tell, because he carried all that love and care with him, all the time. It’d radiate off him in all that he did and said. And David was so proud to be there to witness him, to know that his love was his.
“What did I do to deserve a dad like you?” He chuckled weakly, voice wobbling and gave him a hug.
David stood there for a second, before Harry beckoned him into the hug as well. He joined them, with glossy eyes and a healing heart. He could feel the warmth radiating off and more importantly the love. He had never felt so truly cared for as he did in that moment. The gesture wasn’t even that special, he had been hugged a thousand times before, but for the many years he’d spent hating that part himself, it meant everything to him. He felt like how he used to when he was a kid, happy, without a care or worry in the world.
He felt like himself.
—
They made it up the stairs and to Exer’s room in silence, both of them lost in thought. David sat himself down on the couch, ready to wrap himself back up in the blanket, Exer was watching the movie, and let it roll on in the background, sitting next to David. That heavy conversation with Harry felt like a weight had been lifted off of David and he could finally breathe. He was sure Exer felt the same way.
“So…
What about that kiss?”
It was the way Exer had asked him like nothing ever happened, like David hadn't just been through an emotional rollercoaster and had that life changing moment in the past fifteen minutes. And maybe it was also because he was so emotionally exhausted, he found it so funny.
”What??” Exer frowned, “Why are you laughing at me?”
“H—have you been waiting for that this entire time?!” David said, still muffling giggles.
Exer blushed a deep shade of red, “What!?! No!”
David just chuckled harder, watching Exer grow more embarrassed by the second.
“Oh my God, Daaviddd…” His expression was begging him to stop but David couldn’t— it was— it was so funny. Rolling his eyes, Exer smacked a pillow in his face in an attempt to quiet him, but it just ended up turning into an all-out pillow fight. It lasted a whole ten minutes before David had to give in and surrender, swearing he’d stop laughing.
“You better,” Exer threatened him, before his expression became soft and he couldn’t help but smile too.
They were silent for a while, just half heartedly watching the film, before David spoke up again.
”But, to answer your question…” He looked away, “I mean, I did promise though, didn’t I?”
David noticed Exer unmistakably scooching closer, his long eyelashes fluttering, to his eyes and then to his lips and to his eyes again.
“Mhm.” He nodded, “You did.”
David leaned in.
Their lips joined, softly and slowly, David placing his palm over Exer’s jaw, holding him carefully in place. Their kisses always start out a bit clumsy, never perfect, but that didn’t stop the butterflies. It didn’t stop David’s heart from practically pounding out of his chest. It didn’t stop David’s inability to think about anything other than Exer.
Exer tilted his head, just slightly, and he practically sighed against the kiss. Exer was gripping at David’s shirt, desperately pulling him in every time he pulled away to breathe, making David muffle a smile.
He was so cute.
The kiss lasted only a couple of seconds, but it felt like a lifetime. David felt like he had been transported somewhere else, outside of space and time. He was focused on how calm and quiet his mind gets every time they kiss. That feeling alone drove him insane. Not to mention the addicting feeling of hearing their heartbeats sync up with one another’s. Or the way Exer would respond to everything.
They pulled apart, faces still close to each other, their foreheads millimetres away from touching. David swore he could feel their souls intertwine. He was drowning in Exer’s golden eyes in a way that he knew he didn’t want to be saved.
It was like looking directly at the sun.
Alluring and dangerous at the same time.
After a moment of neither of them speaking, and just watching each other longingly, Exer cleared his throat, pulling away almost completely — if it weren’t for their shoulders, thighs and even knees still touching.
“We should turn off this film, huh.”
David blinked. He had honestly forgot that it was still playing. It was just the end credits rolling now. How on earth had he managed to blank out an entire horror film?
“Right, yeah.” He chuckled sheepishly, realising he hadn’t been paying attention to any of the film, “Sorry Exer. Maybe we should rewatch it some other time… I couldn’t really follow along.”
Exer got up and took out the VHS, “Haha yeah of course, man.”
When he turned back around David, felt his heart almost leap out of his throat. His face was flushed, lips red and hair all messy. He had massive green sparkles and sparks shooting off of him, in the shapes of hearts and fireworks.
David actually felt his face rise in temperature, his cheeks radiating warmth.
Had he… done that..?
He started physically fanning his face, because holy shit.
“David… you good?” Exer quirked an eyebrow.
“I am perfectly fine,” David said nervously, voice cracking halfway through the statement to prove that he is definitely not fine.
Exer sat back down on the couch, right next to him.
“If you say so.” He shrugged.
David sighed. He dropped his head onto Exer’s shoulder, feeling him startle for a second, before settling.
The bedroom light was very dim, but David could just make out the outline of Exer’s face, the light acted like a golden rim to frame his features. His hair curled over his forehead, still pretty messy thanks to David. And his eyes were flickering around the room like he was lost in thought.
“You saw the green again right…?” He broke the silence. His words were spoken evenly, as if he spent a lot of time thinking about this.
Something had changed in the atmosphere. It had grown suddenly colder, and more serious. David watched Exer’s face change into something more solemn
“You mean the sparkles?”
“Yeah… Sorry I know it’s weird.” Exer said, sounding suddenly dejected, “It must freak you out.”
David frowned. He hated seeing Exer so down.
”Well yeah, they are weird.” He looked over to Exer, who held a downcast expression, “But it’s also pretty cute.”
Exer’s eyebrows shot up in shock, as he turned to him, “Really..?”
“The hearts, I mean. And… your magic does freak me out, I won’t lie. But I won’t ever leave you because of it.
Besides, I think I’m starting to get used to it.”
Exer was surprised, to say the least. Fondness creeped up into his expression, as he dropped his head on top of David’s.
“Thanks, David.” he smiled, “I appreciate all that you do for me.”
“It’s nothing.” David mumbled, glancing away, “I bet you’ve done more for me.”
Exer paused and looked at him.
“What?”
David looked back and sighed.
He shifted himself so his head was on Exer’s lap, gazing up at him. Exer cheeks were dusted pink again, and he brought his hand to his head to play with David’s hair. David found it oddly comforting.
“Well I just— I thought if anyone was gonna leave it would be you. I figured you don’t really need me.”
I think I need you more than you need me.
It was something David said to Exer months ago, back when he was still hiding and afraid of his feelings. Afraid that some amount of his feelings had bled out in those words, and worrying about it for countless, sleepless nights. Something he could say so carefree right here in this moment, but would’ve killed him to say back then.
‘I need you.’
What hurt and scared David the most, was that, maybe he still was exactly where he was all those months ago. He might’ve never actually gotten over his fear of being abandoned, or no longer needed. Feeling useless. In fact, it probably just got worse.
Exer’s eyes looked like they were shattering into a thousand pieces. Exer had never looked so serious and heartbroken. His face has a sting to it, that made David’s own heart beat sharply and distortedly.
”David… You have no idea how much I care about you…” Exer leant down, brushed away his hair, and placed a kiss on his forehead. “Of course I need you? I need you more than anything or anyone else.
I don’t think I’d manage on my own. You’re my other half.”
David sat up, his eyes glossy and fragile in the little light they were given.
“You really mean that..?” He sounded in disbelief, and Exer just wanted him to know exactly how much he loved him. He just wanted him to know how special he was. How much he meant to him.
“Of course I do. David, you know I’d do anything for you.”
David sat up slightly, looking for anything dishonest hiding in his expression. Any single hesitancy or regret.
But this was Exer. He knew him. He could tell his honesty from his lies. David knew him.
He knew he wouldn’t lie like this. Not to him— not to David.
David felt a lone tear spill across his cheek, and lunged forward, pressing his lips to Exer’s.
It was a short kiss, that sprouted many other kisses across Exer’s face. David put all of his affection into every one.
He wanted to show Exer that he would do anything for him too. That he meant more than life itself to him. That David found his peace with Exer.
And he’d always be grateful to Exer for the amount of love he’d receive, even with the simplest actions. It made him dizzy, it drove him insane.
It felt like looking directly at the sun.
But this time, they would make it work.