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It is the sort of mellow summer evening that makes a body go slack with relief.
A warm yellow sunset tinged with burnt orange along the edges is setting the night into action, the world is softening with that fuzzy, technicolor glazing that turns the mystery and gloom of after dark whimsical.
II inhales deeply through his nose, closing his eyes with that sort of wonderful exhaustion that consumes one after a day well spent.
He lets his elbows dig into his knees as he leans forward on the back step he's hidden away on, letting the simmering glow of twilight engulf him in a gentle embrace.
Nature is his only companion in this rare moment of solitude, and he basks in her kind touch.
The ache in his spine seems to ease a little, and the knot in his neck feels just a bit looser.
He smiles to himself softly.
Much of his skin is exposed to the thick, soft air and the kiss of dusk as she begins to fall is sultry and soothing.
After a hard day spent performing before an alien crowd, baring himself in a way that leaves him sick and cold even behind his drum kit- the gentle anonymity of the darkness is a welcome relief.
"II?"
He is tugged from his reverie by a wavering, almost imperceptible voice beyond the porch railing he rests his head against.
He turns, eyes a bit surprised as his body processes the shift from warm solitude to cozy company.
He smiles kindly, perhaps a bit dopily from exhaustion but the young man who sidles toward him seems to relax immediately as he reads his expression.
He's only about five years older than the tall boy who seats himself at his feet, but the blue-hazel eyes that peer up at him now fill him with the sort of anxious compulsion to bring relief that he's certain parents must feel with their new babies.
"What's wrong, Vessel?"
He cards a languid hand through Vessel's shock of auburn hair.
The man preens at the contact, closing his own eyes now and sniffling as discreetly as he can.
"Today was too big, II."
II feels his heartstrings draw tight, an achy need rising in his own chest as he watches Vessel's mouth wobble slightly.
The confession seems to have taken the fight out of the singer, who lets a tear he didn't know had formed fall down onto his t-shirt.
II nods, "It was a lot, huh?"
Vessel's shoulders hitch at the validation.
II gingerly scoots down a step, subtly bracketing the thin boy's body with his legs and extending his arms for him.
Vessel instinctively turns into him, pulling his legs up to his body and curling inwards to snugly press into the older man's chest.
He swipes the back of a hand across his swelling waterlines, swallowing harshly against a bitter sob.
"I have you, love," II assures him, wrapping him securely in his arms and swaying lightly.
Vessel chokes on a tearful cry, breath catching in his throat.
"You can let go," II encourages, pressing the man's head to his heart and cradling it there.
He presses a long kiss into his crown and rests his cheek against the fine locks, breathing in the familiar scent of the Johnson & Johnson the younger man has to use for his sensitive skin.
Vessel's lip trembles violently and his eyes sting with pain.
His nostrils flare and his breath picks up heavily.
II moves one hand so that it's sprawled across the boy's chest, rubbing a small circle as if to try and massage out the ache he knows is lurking there.
Night has almost entirely swept in now, indigo skies painting the horizons and crawling over their heads.
"No one can see you," II whispers softly, closing his eyes against his hair.
II holds him tighter as the first wall comes down.
That tall, lean body rattles and then twists as if to run but II holds him, not restraining just steadying.
He would let him go if he truly wanted, but Vessel doesn't, he knows.
"I know it," II murmurs, his own eyes misting lightly.
It hurts him that his friend can't let go as easily of the pain that comes with being a newcomer to the music scene.
II can defend himself against the snide remarks and unkind words, sporting a sturdy suit of armor borne from a childhood that strengthened every plate and a mother who made sure he could safely remove them at home.
Vessel cannot. His armor is battered, missing pieces and dented from too many years being worn for days on end with no prospect of being freed from it.
Vessel slumps forward, falling unwittingly into II's hand hard as the wound he's been trying to hold closed suddenly bursts wide open.
His mouth gapes with an aching, long wail that II feels the sharp edges of.
"There you are," II soothes, rubbing the man's chest as his entire body shakes with the force of the cry breaking from him, "Let it go, that's it."
Vessel pauses on a long silent sob, limp against II now. As if it is taking all of his strength just to release this agony he's kept caged all day.
It's an ugly thing, strings of drool streaming from his mouth and mucus winding down and gathering at his Cupid's bow as it escapes. II is almost grateful not to see the pain etched into all of his friend's fine features.
The noise of his release winds to a close as quietly as it came on. Soon, they are knit together - Vessel in II's arms and allowing the older man to sway continuously, never breaking contact. Silence winds back around them, a lonely cricket serenading as they gaze up at the twinkling starlit sky above.
Vessel sniffles occasionally, but feels infinitely calmer as he rests in II's embrace. Night wraps them in swathes of warm breezes that ruffle tree limbs and create ripples of shaking leaves. The sounds serve to remind them of how small they are in the world and, yet, entwined as they are, they stand like a firelit fortress against the threat of prying eyes.
Vessel caresses II's forearm wrapped around his shoulder securely, reaching for the older man's hand and softly pressing a quiet kiss of gratitude to his knuckles.
II steals a clandestine smile.
He hooks his chin into the point where Vessel's neck meets his shoulder.
Their cheeks rest against each other lightly.
They let the darkness consume the maddening day.