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"C'mere."
Palmer wore a slightly less smug expression, and Devon was confused. Why was he so hesitant to close the gap between them? His eyes flitted to the arms stretched open on either side of the bigger adult, the notion clicking instantly.
"No, Palmer-" he said quickly, but if the nigga wasn't known for listening, he definitely wasn't going to start now.
Arms larger and thicker than his own enveloped him, lifting him slightly before securing him closer to the younger man.
"Palm-" he said, and the audacity of the man in question came out with an obnoxious clearing of his throat.
"It's alright." He said, enveloping the other black man tighter. "I'm here."
Here felt suffocating. Devon tried to loosen his own grip, his hands flying around the taller man's musculature instinctively. Palmer, as irritating as he was, wasn't having any of it.
"Know you're not ready to talk," he muttered, so quietly that if Devon squinted he'd mistaken it for still, small reverence. "But whenever you are..."
At that moment Devon realized he was standing taller, leaning into the man that had over half a foot on him. Adjusting his feet flat, he was shocked to feel Palmer's head dive with him, settling on a part of his shoulder.
Palmer gave an extra squeeze, and had the man not been that much younger, Devon would admit it'd been nice. Not to his assailant in question, but to himself. In his mind.
"Palmer," he tried, his cadence going noticeably softer. "I promise I'm fine."
Finally, the giant of a man let Devon push him away. Devon was met with disbelief - not of the curtened affection, but of the promise that came before it.
He knew that Palmer had come a long way in hiding his emotions, but he clearly hadn't finished that journey yet. An absentminded scratch of the most bulbous part of his nose told the 22-year-old more in a second than Palmer would admit in the hours following.
"You," he tried. God knew he tried, and if the conversation before hadn't shattered his funny bone, it would've set him into a laughing fit. Instead, his lips twitched at the sight, missed by the man who seemed to be speaking someone else's mind. "You sure?"
Yeah, his mind breathed before he could. There was a space there, an understanding that wasn't present in moments previous. Palmer, the hulk of a man that he was, stooped down to his everyday level like it was what he was supposed to do. It was destiny, it was fate, it was-
Wrong. He'd corrected, filling the physical space that Palmer had respected with a step. A gap that he'd created, although if he'd turned his head a bit and tilted it felt wider than he'd initially intended. Another step forward, and he was seeing less of the taller man. Feeling, on the other hand...
Contact. Like clockwork, Devon gently pressed himself against Palmer, soaking in his body heat as he attempted to block the world out. "Von-"
"I know." Came out, but both knew what he meant. Whatever reassurances, sweet wisps of nothingness muttered under hesitant lips, words that found meaning in their in-between, were understood through the contact. Shifting closer, he'd noted the arms that folded over him a few beats later than he anticipated. Hesitant came to mind, and cautious threatened to topple the peace of it.
It was then, only then, that he felt himself fall. Into the man that was an enigma - carefree and careful battled for his name, but the prefix remained poignant. It was then that he could see the world, no, the universe in the man he embraced - complex celestial bodies that made a home in his eyes, smile, or actions Devon had dismissed as routine.
If Palmer were a system, Devon wished the stars that fell from his cheeks would find orbit in him, or at least the auburn sweater that covered him. If the younger man were space, he'd wish to explore it thoroughly - one small ship with the perseverance to move forward.
Back on earth, Devon found himself surprised the man didn't flinch at his tears. The 6'4 man responded by simply hugging him tighter instead, reassuring the 22-year-old that whatever universe he'd been in Devon's eyes was no match for the him Palmer had given it all up for. And in spite of the constellations that danced across Devon's face, or the understanding that transcended their very being, Palmer still spoke:
"Everything's gonna be okay."
And Devon...Devon finally believed him.