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Rowan was pretty content with his blindness.
It was like silence after years of just noise. It was nice, though the thought of never seeing Juniper's face again almost brought him to tears. He's scared to forget. Forget his dusty blond hair or the gaps between his teeth when he smiled... That was the one thing he enjoyed about sight, even if it hurt.
Since Rowan ran and lost his vision, Juniper has not left his side. He started begging Rowan to sleep in his bunk with him because he was terrified he'd leave again.
Rowan didn't mind.
They lay on Juniper's bed, the bottom bunk. Juniper was scared of the top one. Rowan laid his head on Juniper's chest as Juniper played one of his favorite documentaries on his laptop. Rowan wished he had paid more attention when he could see; now he just closed his eyes and listened.
Rowan thinks about all the faces he saw and took for granted. His mother, his uncles, his cousins, and the other camp counsellors. He now understood why people told him to not take things for granted.
"Juniper," Rowan mutters.
"What's going on, mate?" Juniper looked down at Rowan lying there, eyes half open.
Rowan found it funny how Juniper still referred to him as "mate".
"I don't know; I just wanted to hear your voice." Rowan looked up at Juniper, even if he couldn't see him. He still looked at people when he was talking to them, even though it didn't do anything.
"Well, that's quite alright then." Juniper grinned; Rowan could just tell by the way he said it.
"I feel like your voice is all I have left of you; I'm scared to forget," Rowan mumbled into Juniper's chest.
"Oh ho! Don't worry now, I have plenty of talking where that came from!"
"Of course you do." Rowan smiled fondly. Rowan propped himself up on his elbows, hands searching Juniper's face for his lips. Rowan hadn't kissed Juniper in days; it was eating at him. Rowan moved his head towards Juniper till their lips pressed into each other.
The kiss was long, sweet, and gentle. Rowan buried his face into Juniper's neck after. Juniper laughed.
Rowan didn't know why, but he felt a familiar knot in his stomach, his throat feeling like it was being strangled with barbed wire and his eyes burning. He was crying.
Juniper noticed the slight stutter in Rowan's shoulders.
"Rowan?" Juniper rubbed his back.
"I missed you. I still miss you; I took your face for granted, not knowing that that would be the last time I ever saw you. I'm so stupid." Rowan wiped tears from his eyes.
Juniper didn't speak. He just softly raised Rowan's hand so he could feel his face.
Rowan calmed slightly. His eyebrows furrowed as he felt Juniper's face underneath his fingers. His forehead, then his nose, then the slight whiskers between his nose and his lips. Rowan did not lift his head from Juniper's neck even though Juniper thought his breath tickled.
"I love you," Rowan muttered. His mouth felt dry as he spoke.
"I.. love you too!" Juniper says. It felt weird in his mouth; it was odd. He had a hard time telling people he loved them.
Juniper shuts his computer. He knew they should probably get some shut-eye as there were only a few days until camp was over! Rowan seemed to be pretty stressed about the end of camp but Juniper was excited to be back in the comfort of their home together.
"Try to rest darling." Juniper smiles, his fingers tracing over Rowan's back. Feeling his spine, then his shoulder blades.
Rowan nodded, then kissed Juniper on the neck a few times.
Their limbs were tangled together as they drifted off... Peace. Rowan hadn't felt this kind of peace since he was a child. It was nice.
He would sleep then.