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He awoke without remembering how or when he fell asleep. Blinking a few times, the world slowly fell into place. Light shone through the canvas, painting everything in a soft yellow light. The matress rustled beneath him and he untangled an arm from the sleeping bag to reach for his phone in the pocket above him. When he got hold of it he glanced at the screen but the numbers of the digital clock seemed blurry. He let it slip back into the tentpocket to rub his eyes from sleep when the sound of the ziplock door opening startled him.
”Oh hey man, you're awake!” Link's face appeared through the fly.
Rhett looked to the side where another matress and sleepingbag were laid out. This tent was way to small for two full- grown men, especially their size, was his fleeting thought before Link not so gracefully tried to get into the tent and back to his place. Rhett chuckled at the man's flaying limbs and strained groans.
”Dude, how did you get out without waking me up?” Link only shrugged with a vague smile before finally settling down on top of his sleeping bag. Rhett noticed he only wore his briefs, for some weird reason. His skin was softly tanned. Rhett's gaze fell at Link's slightly curved waist, down the sharp hipbones, grazed over his… He cleared his throat and looked up at the tent's ceiling. ”What were you doing anyway?”
Link laughed.
”Really? You want details?”
”Oh.” Rhett gestured dismissevly with his hand. ”Nah man, I'm good.”
”Thought so.” The brunette snickered. ”So what's up?”
”Whaddaya mean, what's up?” Rhett snorted. ”You just woke me from...”
”No I mean, you seemed a little out of it yesterday” Link cut him off. ”All that thinking about other universes and stuff... Got you pretty freaked, huh?”
A sudden pang of fear hit Rhett in the chest like cold water.
I'm alone
It ran off him just as quick only leaving a weird empty feeling behind.
”Rhett?” Link's voice brought him back, melting the remaining ice in his bones. Rhett turned so he laid on his side. Shadows from the leaves of the tree outside were dancing over Link's face. He wasn't wearing his glasses. The yellow light painted his features with an almost etheral softness. His eyes seemed impossibly blue. Rhett swallowed.
”There's a universe where we're more than this, you know.”
He looked down at his hands. Something about them seemed off. He blinked once again, thinking that his eyes were still hazed from sleep.
”More than what?” Link asked and Rhett turned to meet his gaze. A butterfly sat on the wall behind him, slowly moving it's brightly coloured wings up and down. Blue, like Link's eyes. Rhett paid it no mind. He wet his lips before speaking up again.
”Friends. Brothers.”
A loopsided smile and the sun suddenly decided to shine brighter through the tent, making Rhett squint.
”Well,” Link said as he reached out his hand. ”We kind of are in this universe too, bo.” He laid it against Rhett's cheek, curled his long fingers around his jawline and caressed his cheek with the pad of his thumb. ”More than that.”
His voice seemed to come from far away when Rhett lost himself in the mist his gentle caress brought upon him. Suddenly Link was on his matress. Though it most definitely was too small for the both of them, Rhett didn't really question the physics of it when Link's chest pressed flush against his.
”Yeah, Yeah” he breathed. ”I guess you're right.”
Strong, lean fingers traced their way up his arm.
”You're damn right I am.”
Warm breath against his lips.
”Golly, what'd you eat man?”
A slight giggle vibrating through his body.
”Shut up, Neal.”
Words falling in the millimeters between them.
”Make me.”
White kitten teeth flashed in a whisper.
Rhett swallowed once again and glanced over at his phone. Bright numbers blinked on the black screen. In the corner of his eyes they were still all blurry, impossible to read. A blue butterfly crept up over it.
I'm alone.
His gaze fell to Link's lips. The delicately shaped cupidsbow glistened. The only thing he heard was their breaths. He leant forward, closing the distance and catching Link's mouth with his own.
His lips were soft. He tasted like everything Rhett loved in this world. He smelled like the safety of home and the thrill of the unknown. He was the bright- eyed boy in Rhett's memories, the awkward teenager in his dreams and the beautiful man under his palms. Everything he ever thought he knew fell apart around him except this. Rhett felt like all the universes hit him at once. He was in them and they were in him but it was all safe and bright and wonderful, because there at his side was Link and everything was as it should be. Blue butterflies in his stomach.
Then Link laid beside him with his head on his arm, both gazed up at the ceiling.
”Is there a universe where we're not together at all?” Link asked.
”Not if they have to follow the laws of physics.”
”Whaddaya mean by that?”
”That I think it's impossible for me to exist without you.”
Link rolled over, heaved himself up to rest on Rhett's chest. The dark- haired man raised his head and looked down at him, thoughtfully nibbling at his bottom lip.
”You know this is a dream, right?”
”Yeah, yeah I figured.” Rhett sighed and let his head fall to the side. ”I kinda created it, I guess.” Smiling a little he looked up at Link again. ”I'm telling ya, man this lucid dreaming thing is great!”
”Hm.” Link lazily played with Rhett's untamed locks, gazing back at him through squinted eyes. ”So what are you going to do when you wake up?”
Rhett shrugged.
”Dunno. Take a dump probably.”
Link rolled his eyes with a toothy grin.
”You know … ” He laid his head to rest at Rhett's chest, raking through the coarse curls there. ”Are you going to ... Do something. About this?”
Silence. The butterfly had made it's way to the ceiling above them and Rhett watched it wander around in circles a while before he answered.
”No.” He sighed. ”No, we're fine. It's as it is. There's other universe's for that,” he gestured towards Link, splayed out upon him like he belonged there. ”For this.”
”And you're okay with that?” Link glanced up at him through dark lashes.
”Yeah, yeah I am.”
”Then why are you crying?”
Rhett sniffled.
”'M not.”
Link raised an eyebrow, stretched out his hand and collected a handfull of tears from Rhett's cheek.
”I beg to differ.”
He was shaking now, his whole body in involuntary convulsions. Link's face started to blur out by the teary fog.
”This is a dream,” he blubbered. ”You're a dream, there's no real tears, you're not here. I control you.”
He blinked and then he saw the butterfly flap its wings and lift from the ceiling.
”Do you now?” Came Link's voice from beneath.
He dove forward, crashing his mouth onto Rhett's and for a fragment of a second he felt like he was going to cut through the surface of the dream and wake up. This kiss wasn't soft and tasting of childhood dreams. This kiss was as deep and dark as the ocean and it rolled into him like a tide, swallowed him whole and left him tumble, helpless in the strong currents. Rhett bucked his hips, searching for friction and felt Link grind down to meet his movement. In the midst of the deep dark waters there was glowing embers that suddenly burst up in untamable flames, a spreading fire as unstoppable as the tides that rocked them together.
Then it stopped and all he saw was blue.
Link looked into his eyes, shook his head.
”You shouldn't be alone in the desert.”
***
”I'm so happy that I am this me.” Link's vocie had a smile in it and Rhett let out a quiet snicker when he felt him look over. ”Too.”
While Rhett took a sip from his mug Stevie called cut, people started clear out and Link let Barbara down from his lap. He made a little drum solo on the edge of the desk and stood up.
”Man, that was great! See you in the office in ten?” He didn't wait for an answer before he started to turn away.
”Hey, Link?” Without really thinking Rhett reached out and got hold of the man's slender wrist. Link looked down at their hands and then up at him, seemingly bewildred.
”Yeah?”
Rhett hesitated. Underneath his fingers he could feel Link's pulse. His thoughts seemed to slow down. He wet his lips and saw the motion mirrored in Link's face, his cupid bow glistening.
”You should … you should come next time.” Rhett almost whispered. ”Camping I mean. Just you and me.”
For a second Link looked like he was about to drop some witty comment about it, but he caught up with the expression in Rhett's eyes.
”Yeah... ” he answered instead. ”Sure, It'd be fun man. Been a long time.”
Rhett let his thumb stroke the back of Link's hand in a fleeting, featherlike caress before he let go. The dark- haired man looked back at him, shook his head slightly and let out a low chuckle.
”Like I said, you really shouldn't be alone in the desert.”
In the studiolights, his eyes seemed impossibly blue.