Chapter Text
At this time of year, the ivy grew over the lone stone column. Shane put one foot in front of the other, almost there. The first time he'd done this he was huffing and puffing honestly. He briefly looked at the boy next to him.
"Damn Hollander. Taking me to a spot?" Ilya laughed, trying to keep one stride in front of Shane. There was something about him, familiar in a way coming home to your childhood bedroom welcomed you. Like something just clicked around this person.
A smile worked its way onto Shane's face. "I love this spot." he replied softly. Besides, they were almost here. No one really bothered venturing all the way up the hill, behind all the industrial buildings and parking lots. There was a nearby church that kept pretty quiet and some family homes...but otherwise this was Shane's spot.
"There, see it?" Shane gestured, pointing towards the top of the staircase that bent off into the direction of the stone columns.
Next to him but not quite touching, Ilya exhaled ruffling his hair and shaking his head around slightly. Like a big dog with a lot of energy. "Not bad." The landmark overlooked forest and the calm sea. Hoisting a foot up, Ilya gathered the rest of his body until he perched on the stone wall. Salty air hit his face as his shoulders relaxed.
Shane averted his eyes back to the sea, tracking the horizon line to the melting shadows of leaves that the sunset illuminated. Ilya could tell Shane was very familiar with this secluded place. Like he could probably navigate it in the dark.
Maybe Shane could keep taking the nature in but Ilya could not drag his eyes away from cataloguing every moment, every freckle and the pulse beating in Shane's throat from their trek up here.
"We met how many days ago?" Ilya asked.
"Mmm four?" Shane replied, running through how he sat on a bench at the park and Ilya, after running circles around the block, plopped down beside him. And they'd launched into a conversation about anything and everything until it was literally dark and the street lamp illuminated their faces. A warm summer night.
"You felt very drawn to me." Ilya remarked. Shane almost snorted from laughter. "You were the one to approach me." he quickly replied, not allowing history to rewrite itself from Ilya's point of view. Shane noticed their hands inched a little closer.
"I don't know how to describe it. We just never ran out of things to talk about." Shane articulated, running through their conversations that started with hockey and ended with why Ilya's McDonalds order was superior and why they should then go to McDonalds, which is exactly what they did. Because all of a sudden it seemed like he had met the biggest breath of fresh air who creatively and intellectually wanted to know and match everything about him.
Actually Shane didn't really know what they had going on. If this was a homies watching the sunset alone on a beach cliff or if it was feeding into the urge that told Shane to curl up next to Ilya. But he knew with certainty he was safe. And that he wanted to talk with Ilya forever, about everything.
Ilya leaned into him, their sides brushing as the sky bloomed from a baby blue to a bright orange and champagne pink. The waves crashed and cars honked, commuting home after a long work week. Little humans pushed babies in strollers and the crows flew away. Shane froze up at first at the sudden contact but then relaxed his frame and leaned back into Ilya. He was warm and lovely.
This type of strange, instant attraction...the need to drink up all the details a human mind could humanely process felt so instinctual. Like Ilya had no other choice than to get to know everything about Shane. He didn't know quite where such a serious pull came from.
"I feel like.." Shane began, pausing to think about his words carefully. He didn't want to scare Ilya off. "I feel really at home with you."
Ilya smiled and reached a hand up to land on the crown of Shane's head. "I understand what you mean."