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All in all, the evening feels like most of their irl hangouts do: surreally romantic, romantically intimate and intimately surreal.
They're in Spain, just the two of them. Ariel was supposed to be there too, but well, she had a lot of other stuff to do and really couldn't justify flying over to Europe for just one evening. Medical checkups, collabs, business meetings... She wasn't too mad to miss this evening, since Matt had promised to take her to the next solar eclipse in 2027.
As it's only them two, they've opted to sit amidst the masses in a public park. Community, Alex called it. Something about watching a solar event together uniquely unifying: They're all the same, all equally awed by the spectacle. Plus, that way, they'll also get to catch the fireworks show after. So maybe it's best Ari opted out this time - she likes crowds best when she is separated from them by at least a stage and a barrier, which would defeat the whole point.
Alex has come prepared: One and a half hours before the start of the eclipse, they're already there with a big picnic blanket, some snacks and plenty of drinks. It's comically crowded, several hundreds of people on their small slip of the hill alone. Everyone is trying to catch a good spot to watch, and there's more people coming every minute. But they've claimed their blanket space, their little island of peace (if you could call several square meters "little"), so there's no real concern.
They chat about life and music and Magic: the Gathering. Matt has missed this. With Alex, everything feels easy. No matter where they are, whether on a fuckass road trip for their first ever meeting or performing on stage together or in the middle of an overcrowded public park in Spain, when they are together, Matt is at home. He tells Alex so, gets a bright affectionate smile and an arm thrown over his shoulder in return.
Alex has bought tortilla chips and several containers of different dips and salsas off an old woman on Facebook Marketplace. Matt had no idea that was even a thing, is slightly worried they'd get ripped off or poisoned or both, but it's such a niche experience that he's down for it. He's down for almost anything as long as he is with his best friend.
The guac is delicious, the salsa nice and spicy. They have iced fresh lemonade as well, so much that he's half-convinced they'll never be able to drink all of it. Someone nearby has brought a boom box, far enough away that it's unobtrusive, but a beat with some melody can be heard reverberating through the air. What exactly they're playing is neither distinguishable nor important. Perfect.
After a while, Matt puts on one of the cheap pairs of glasses and yes. There's a little round shadow grazing the edge of the orange circle of the sun. It'll still take a good twenty minutes until the eclipse has reached its peak.
The air smells of weed and cigarette smoke, dried-up grass, sunscreen and sweat. "Hey Alex", he asks.
"Hmm?" He's got his mouth full of tortilla, but looks up expectantly. I'm listening.
"We forgot sunscreen. Do you think we'll be safe? I mean the sun'll be covered."
Crunch, crunch. Alex is chewing, then swallows. "Yeah, probably. You always get red no matter how much you put on anyway."
"Hey, not true!" Matt knows he's right, but he's gotta defend the honor of his skin somewhat.
"It is. I think I still have some in my bag, d'ya want it?" Of course Alex thought of that too.
"Nah, 's fine. Who would I be if I slathered myself in sunscreen right at the big event where the sun's getting covered anyway?" Alex laughs at that, head-back and from his belly. It might be Matt's favorite sound in the world - at least top three, for sure.
They keep talking about nothing and everything, keep periodically looking at the sky. There's a tension building within the crowd. The sun will be fully gone shortly.
As soon as the moon is central enough to form a ring of sun rays around it in the sky, someone nearby starts clapping. It's not even the absolute peak yet, won't be for another minute, so most don't follow suit.
Then, at 7:31 PM, everyone breaks into applause. It's not like anyone is up there orchestrating the whole thing, but it's silly and goofy and everyone else does so too, so him and Alex only giggle at each other and start clapping too. People are shouting things in Spanish, and he translates for Alex. "She said 'keep going'" and "he asked the sun to make a baby together. Or the moon? Something in the sky."
The sky is a gorgeous deep red. There are a few stray clouds, but they're not obstructing the view - more enhancing it, the way they reflect the color of the horizon. With the shadow in front of it, the sun appears more like what it actually is - a giant fireball in the sky, far far away in space. It's a bit apocalyptic, even. Definitely an image he won't forget.
He looks at Alex then, who's still staring at the sky, equally as awed as him. The reddish light softens his beard and cheekbones. "I'm so grateful we're here together", Matt mumbles.
Alex blindly grabs his hand. "Me too, bro."
The shadow of the moon keeps wandering as the sun sinks. It's a bit of a race to the finish: Will the eclipse finish before the sunset? Or will it be the other way around?
Said race is taking its sweet time, so they talk throughout, make stupid observations in caricature sports commentator voices, don't keep an eye on it constantly. After twenty minutes or so, people are clapping and hollering again. Who won? The sun is gone, so there's no way to check. He snorts and translates for Alex as people all around are chanting for an encore. Like the sun will hear them and peek out for a bit once more, just to make them happy. Alex laughs at that too.
"Doesn't matter. I'm the winner here", whispers Matt to Alex. "Not the eclipse, not the sunset. Me. I get to experience this with you."
It is, by all means, a normal weekday, but almost no one leaves at sunset. Yes, people are packing up their eclipse glasses and snacks, but they're staying seated. There's even some new arrivals, probably friends that watched the spectacle from somewhere else.
It's getting a bit colder, which is nice. The music shifts a bit. The weed smell gets stronger, wafts over in waves, and a few people spray on insect repellent.
The fireworks show won't start until later, so Matt excuses himself to find a spot to relieve himself. He's looked on Maps and there's no public toilets nearby, but he's sure he'll find some inconspicuous vegetation to piss in. It takes him a while to find something, because everywhere he looks there's more people just around the corner, but eventually he gets to a good spot. On the way back, already way lighter, he looks around: Every face he sees is a bit starstruck still. Alex was right about the unity, just like he usually is.
Once he's back, he explains to Alex where he went. "Just over the bridge, up the little hill, follow the path and then the smaller path to the right. You'll find it." Then Alex is gone into the night.
Next to their blanket, there's a young couple dancing. Not really to music, just free, flowy, dreamy movements. A pang of longing surges through him. He would have loved to have Ariel here. He knows she's busy, knows she would've hated how many people are here, but he's so happy right now. He wants to share that happiness with her.
Just as he's about to take a picture for her, someone shouts and points up to the sky. Right, it's the height of the perseides too. Meaning a lot of shooting stars.
Oh well, the lighting would probably be shit anyway. He gives up on the picture and lies back to look at the gradually darkening sky instead. There's the great wagon, big and clear. Further over, Cassiopeia. The big W. There! Another shooting star! This time, he is one of the people shouting.
Alex returns and lies down too, his head on Matt's chest. He can feel the streaky hair tickling his neck. Another waft of the weed smell hits them. He doesn't get high anymore, but it's nostalgic.
At the next shooting star, Alex points up at it. "Did you see that?" he asks, excitedly.
"Yeah, course I did. Beautiful, isn't it?" There is so much warmth around his heart, both from Alex's head on his chest and from the happiness of being around one of his favourite people ever.
Alex nods. "Make a wish, but don't tell anyone. It won't come true if you say what it was."
Matt debates saying he wishes for Alex to never pull any baddies ever again, just to rule that possibility out forever, but it's probably best not to toy with fate like that. Instead, he goes for: "Nah, there's way too many shooting stars to wish on every single one. That's too many wishes, man." He shouldn't ask for more. Not when he's already so content with his life. The only thing he wants right now is to have his girlfriend with them, and he knows she wouldn't even like that.
"Makes sense. Let's just make one big wish each before we go home, okay?" They shake hands over it. One big wish. He better think of a good one.
The couple keeps dancing, they keep looking out for more shooting stars. Talk a bit more, lord knows it's been too long since they properly caught up with one another. BG4 is like a distant dream at this point, both too entwined with their individual projects. Maybe he should wish for that. Finally another album together.
At 10:18 PM, 18 minutes after the originally announced time, the first fireworks rocket explodes in the sky. They're doing it over the ocean - less danger of wildfires that way, plus some pretty reflections in the water - but they're not directly at the beach. It was way too full (and sandy) down there. They'll miss some of the show, the parts closer to the ground, but it's okay. They can still see its glow through some trees, and the truly spectacular bits are higher up anyway.
Two more rockets hiss through the air and erupt in circles of sparkling blue. The remaining streaky smoke gets carried away by the wind, like a family of little wispy spiders with too many legs crawling through the sky.
The rockets keep on coming - usually three at a time, red, blue, green and gold - until there's a little pause with other firework closer to the ground. Then, another shower of red drifting through the air, and "OOH!" The crowd gasps. A shooting star, directly to the left of the pyrotechnics.
It feels like straight out of a Disney end scene. Matt turns his head to the left, and the golden lights are reflected in Alex's eyes. There's another gasp, presumably another shooting star, but he can't stop watching his best friend. Alex turns to look back at Matt. Their eyes meet, and they share a big, elated smile. Then they both focus back on the sky.
The fireworks show lasts almost half an hour, with five more shooting stars right in the vicinity of it. At the end, they bring out rockets that first explode and then separate in the air again, like little snowflakes, or dandelion seeds.
Matt misses Ari, but he wouldn't miss this for the world. At the end, they all applaud again, and the claps from the beach and the neighboring lawns and all across the city echo through the air. He is here, he is with Alex and Alex is happy. Just as happy as he is.
When they lie back down, he gasps at another shooting star. This is the one, Matt decides. He's ready to make his wish.
Please, he thinks, and focuses all his willpower on not accidentally saying it out loud. He wants this to come true. Needs it to. Please let me see Alex happy like this many, many more times.