after feeling more at ease with his surroundings, starting to love life again, julius felt like it was time to start his own life. now married to jason, his love, his life, he suggested moving out and into their own place... but while jason didn’t feel ready to do so yet, julius suggested that he moved in first, so jason could come after when it’s time...
currently unloading boxes and folding clothes on their future double bed, he smiles softly to himself. the visits at the house will be lovely, and it’ll be nice to have a place of one’s own... and by filling the rooms with his presence, opening the windows and letting the sunlight in, he realizes that it will all be okay after all.
[ in his armor andrew can’t do
much more than give a slight nod
in return, but’s pleased nonetheless
when julius is satisfied with the gift.
he contemplates his question for a
moment as they begin to walk again,
trying to formulate an in-character reply. ]
I, uh… well, I like to spend time
at the blacksmith’s, testing out all
the swords and armor and learning
how to make them.
[ he can spy a tent up ahead with
a wall lined with metal weapons,
and the dull sound of a hammer
thwacking leather inside it draws him
curiously toward it with julius in tow. ]
{ not at all surprised by akira’s confession and
suggestion, julius rolls his eyes with a simper.
he’s seen andrew google pictures of fantasy
swords, and he’s seen the intricate patterns
he puts so much time into while designing
dagger handles on paper, and more than
once he’s gone on rants about historic
relics… and julius has listened every time
of course, asking questions, fantasizing of
a day when he can give him a real sword
on his birthday… but he’s not rich, nor knows
where he could find one. if times had been
different he would’ve given him the dagger
that he used during the civil war, but it’s lost,
and stained, and it was nowhere near as
beautiful as the ones that andrew dream
about… so perhaps it will forever remain
a dream.
the tent is less crowded than the jewelry
stand was, but still with a respectable
amount of people. most are dressed in
attires similar to akira’s so julius holds
harder onto him, fearing he’ll lose him
in the small crowd. when they stop it’s
by a table lined with daggers, all chained
down, much to julius’ relief. a man sits
behind it working on a piece of leather.
julius runs his fingertips over the handles.
it feels familiar. }
[ within his helmet andrew smirks
and scoffs as julius turns around
and presents his slender neck to
him. with his costume on he can’t
exactly do a very good check of who’s
watching, but he figures even if someone
did glimpse an action as tiny as this they’d
write it off as a trick of the light. so, with a
conceding roll of his eyes, andrew lifts the
necklace off his glove with his powers and
slips it around his friend’s prince’s nape
in a single smooth motion, settling the
pendant in the dip of his collarbones.
in both jest and fondness, he murmurs, ]
There you are, your highness.
{ gentle tingling makes julius’ fingers tighten a
little in his hair, although it eases as soon as
the pendant rests peacefully in the dip between
his collar bones. (like a moon crater, he thinks
briefly.) upon turning to face him he lets his curls
go and instead runs the fingers over the silver
chain and the stone. he bows — a common
courtesy on the moon, he decides — and
hooks his arm back into andrew’s. }
Thank you, Dragonborn. I’m sure
we’ll be protected from evil now.
Let’s enjoy our day.
{ he pulls on him lightly, fingers curved around
his bicep, although on top of the heavy armor. }
Show me something that you enjoy
doing in the land you come from…
Standing alone near the exit doors and the rest
of terminal 7, Harry stares between his phone and his
Gucci signature carry-on. He’s flown between London
and New York several times this year, but this time around
it feels like a more permanent stay. He texted Julius
before he departed to meet him at the terminal exit
and to have a car ready by 9:30, he’s coming home.
Julius responded in time before he turned his phone
to airplane mode and slipped on headphones, zoning
out for the remaining 7 hours.
It’s too early for him to be feeling jet-lagged. The grouchiness
picks at his good mood and his hunger increases, eating him away
in his gut. He should have told Julius to pick him up something sweet,
maybe they’ll stop along the way home.
{ with harry having been gone for so long,
frolicking in the english academy world, julius
couldn’t help but get bored without the
light-hearted banter and the never-ending
coffee runs… mondays started to feel like
saturdays minus the drinking, and slowly
but surely everything blended together,
creating an endless cycle of wake up, run,
eat, sleep, repeat. his sleep schedule
never changed, but somehow he didn't
feel as productive now that he didn’t go
and get home to something. (money still
appeared in his bank account and he
still took harry’s calls, although to only
tell whoever calling that he's away for
the time being… however long that
may be.)
of course, harry didn't return any calls or
texts from julius, who soon started looking
for other jobs to separate his days. now a
baker at a local bakery, julius gets up early
and comes back around noon, which still
leaves him a majority of the day to do
whatever he'd like. still, harry’s missed…
so when he got a text with instructions to
pick him up julius sat up straight in bed,
waking jason who slept beside him before
hurrying out the door.
nearing the airport doors with a brown bag
in his hand and a mug in the other, julius
lights up when he sees harry idling by a
trash can. he looks just like he did
when he left (although maybe a little
bit more rugged) and julius couldn't be
happier to see him. going over, quite
regretting not making a ‘welcome home,
boss’ sign, he stops beside him, still just
as short in comparison as he was before
harry left. he swats his shoulder, reaching
his usual order of coffee out to him.
(some things never change.) }
Took you long enough.
I almost started to miss you.
[ with a grin andrew takes the pendant
and chain in one clawed hand and with
the other digs through the pouch at his
hip where he’s stored all his non-medieval
belongings until he withdraws some cash.
as he bows his head to the storekeeper and
makes his transaction, he says aside to julius, ]
I’m pretty sure they have
fried twinkies, so, yeah.
[ turning back to him once he’s tucked
his change away, he offers the gift to
his prince with a sheepish mumble of, ]
I’d put it on for you,
but, uh… claw fingers.
{ julius has a rosy and smiling lip between his
teeth as he observes the whole transaction, the
sun gazing through the trees making his already
warm face redden even more, and he’s so happy
to be playing like this with andrew… he’s very
certain io can spare a few doubloons to buy his
knight a meal or two, so he nods in agreement,
eyes on the silver necklace in akira’s gloved
palm. he pouts at that though, shifting on his
feet, fingers tangling around the chiffon fabric
of his attire. my, he feels a bit bad, but perhaps
io will be excused for being spoiled… he turns
around and runs his fingers through the hair at
the back of his head, holding his curls up for him
and exposing the back of his neck. }
I’m sure the Dragonborn has some
other kind of power he can use to do it...
[ in any case, timbo was definitely rejected, unbeknownst to him. whether it be by mother nature or humans—disease or his own biology—it was a terrible living space… but, that doesn’t matter anymore. he feels safe here—the first time he’s ever truly felt that way, too.
a warm smile sticks to his face as he’s reassured of his safety, the tiny discomfort in his chest fading away. ]
Thank ya, Julius. Ah’ve never really felt so safe before.
[ although he still feels heavily connected to the outdoors. maybe they can have a trip to that hour-long distance sometime!
when his new friend joined the messy spot next to him, timbo doesn’t hesitate to snuggle all up against him and make soft noises. ]
Ah do have a room…but ah lost it! Plus, explorin’ is fun, too. Ah got to meet ya, and ah couldn’t be happier.
{ julius’ shoulders rise when timbo, once he’s
gotten closer (eyes wide, mouth happy), presses
his face against him, his dark hair tickling the
corner of his mouth and his neck. all of him
leans back and he lets out a gasp, lips parting
in brief laughter when his head lands on his
pillows. he rubs his hand against the skin,
trying to ease the tingling. it’s strange to see
someone behave like this, an animal, a
mythological one at that, and feel so childish
and yet look so adult. aren’t panthers supposed
to be hunters? the cat timbo previously had been
hadn’t looked like a kitten, but perhaps their
hunting instinct is different when the body the
animal has is part human. julius looks at him,
propping himself up on his elbows. he gently
kicks timbo’s leg. }
Don’t tell me you’ve explored my room,
searching through my drawers...
“my, you’re a handsome one,” i told him with my hands by his collar, gently pulling on his tie, “tell me, are you single?” and he had smiled bashfully and looked away, down at my hands, and had kissed my knuckles, and i had fallen even deeper in love with him for every kiss he placed on my skin. it was late dawn and none of us wanted to turn on the light, both to save our tired eyes but also so it wouldn’t shine into the corridor and maybe awake some of the others... because today was a special day. it was our day, and i didn’t want to share it with anyone but jason.
jason, oh, my jason... i wish i could show him my notes that sound like this, but even though his love now sits around my left ring finger i’m far too shy to tell him words i have written... i can spend hours looking at him and whisper about every single freckle on his skin, and every eyelash on his face, and every strand of hair upon his head, but i could never read to him aloud these entries in which i talk of how desperately i want him around me, near me, beside me, holding hard onto me. i will tell him versions when he wakes up tomorrow morning, and as his sleeping breaths now hit my naked hip i feel spring blossom inside me, and the day is finally starting to sink in and become real... because this feels just like a dream.
it started at 4 am when i realized that i wasn’t going to sleep any more, and decided to go for my run an hour before my usual time. my room felt cold and empty when jason wasn’t there beside me, radiating warmth and comfort with an arm over my waist. he was just across the hall, hopefully asleep (but knowing him, he was staring at the ceiling practicing saying “i do”), and yet he felt like he was a hundred miles away. i had pulled on my running shoes with a frown on my face because i couldn’t kiss him goodbye, but then i smiled because i remembered why he was in another room to begin with. my steps became light as i ran through central park and then back on 5th avenue. i felt so light taking the stairs three steps at a time, entering the hallway, and hearing the sound of the coffee maker in the kitchen. i had toed out of my shoes and had hurried into the bathroom to shower, wanting to be nothing but pretty for him, but also already knowing he’d say i was the prettiest one in the whole world as soon as he saw me in my sweaty shirt and tied up hair… still, when i had exited with a towel around my shoulders and a toothbrush in my mouth, my eyes had met his in the hallway, and i grew warm at the sight of his wonderful smile. i’m unsure of who it was that ran towards who, but soon my arms were around his shoulders and his were around my waist. (he kissed me good morning, but not on the lips, just like i had asked him too… that needed to be saved for another time today.)
and so i had watched him dress as i braided parts of my hair and pinned them back, wondering what good i must’ve done to be able to sit here, waiting for the clock to strike 12, and not return to the ground where i would’ve been if it wasn’t for andrew... and he had glanced at me in the mirror and had smiled, and i smiled with three hairpins between my lips, and i thought of the joy i would feel after today when i can look at him as an official part of me, and not just someone that grazes me. he dressed in a dark gray suit and he was so handsome, and as i buttoned my shirt i watched him style his hair in the pale spring light, and none of us said a thing but i felt all the words between us make our skin rosy and our hearts beat fast.
when we arrived at the creek in a nearby forest (i don't want to tell which one, because it’s mine and jason’s now, and i want to keep it that way) the man that would wed us was already there, and the two witnesses that had been rented were waiting in nice dresses. of course i thought of how my brothers should've been there to see me, but jason must've seen me think of it because he squeezed my hand before turning to the man. as everyone already were there we decided to start before we were supposed to, and he stood among the singing trees, and jason and i stood among spectating flowers, and i wouldn't stop shaking until jason slipped the thin silver ring with the small opal onto my finger, and i slipped on an identical one, although gold, onto his. his hands were sweaty but so warm and soft and i held them, and he held mine, and i was too shy to stand on my toes so he leaned down instead and kissed me, and i almost started crying there among the wood anemones. afterwards we got an envelope with the certificate, and when the others had left we opened it, and i started crying out of joy then, because my name is no longer julius mccallaghan, but julius cankam.
but, because it was done in secret and no one aside from the witnesses and the man that had wed us knew, no one could stop us from continuing the ceremony for a little while once they had left.
i led jason by his hand further into the forest, and we kneeled in a patch of grass by the sound of running water and with birds high above us. here i read jason my vows with my forehead to his, and with his hands in mine, and he read me his with my face in his neck and my arms around his shoulders with his hands on my back and in my hair. i promised him everything i ever could promise him, and i’ll tape the letter with my vows to this page so i can read them over and over again during the times in which we will fight and during the times which will get hard.
and then i had unbuttoned his shirt and we made love right there in the grass, and i swear i had never been happier, and i had never been so close to burst out of love.
the rest of the day is just as important to me, but it just consisted of us cooking for the others without telling them why we wanted everyone to have dinner together on this particular day. afterwards and after changing jason and i went out and danced, and i kissed him all the time, and we spent more time at our table than dancing, whispering and promising and just looking at each other, touching each others’ faces, holding each others’ hands. and then we went home late at night, and we locked the door, and i asked him if we could ask for god to bless us, and i was a little bit surprised when he agreed. so i held my hands in his and had my cheek to his chest, and i spoke softly to god and asked him to help us remain patient, and to not hold anything back from each other, and for us to fill each day with love and comfort, and for us to confide in each other, and love each other selflessly. and when i said amen jason said amen, too, and i kissed him with all the love one can put into a single kiss… (and then we had undressed once again, and i know my thighs will ache in the morning for being apart for so long.)
and i swear, to whoever reads this, digging through my personal belongings and reading my heart, that jason is a part of the earth. he is a flower, my flower… he's the sound of the wind going through the leaves of a tree. he's the sound of a stream running through a forest full of birdsong. he's the bumblebees buzzing in the search for nectar. i know for a fact that it was god who sent him to me to help me, and i’ve been blessed again, as jason has become a part of my soul, my soulmate… and he's my best friend, my lover and now my husband, and he's also my heart, and my lungs, and he's inside every fiber of my being. i adore him like i adore the sun during the day and the moon during the night. he is part of my everything and words can't describe how much i love him. he's my comfort and my safety, and without him there is no home, just a house… he fills the rooms with his presence and it feels warmer and kinder just because he has grazed the floor with his feet. it's a kind of home that i want to spend the rest of my life in, and that's inside my room in harry’s house, that we have shared since the beginning of the year. without him it's empty and cold.
he sleeps beside me now, and i want to wake him and kiss him and talk to him about nothing, but i want him to feel rested when he wakes up and sees me for the first time as his husband and not just a boyfriend.
i don't want to tell anyone because i know they’ll think we went to fast, but in my opinion we didn't go fast enough. i’ve been ready to marry him since christmas, and now i have, and i swear i can't fit anything but love inside me now. tomorrow i will make him breakfast and i will kiss him good morning, and i will ask what he dreamt about and i will tell him that i dreamt of him even if i didn't because i want to see his face when he hears me say so… and then i will share my morning with him and try not to make the others suspicious when we leave the room.
oh how i love him... you, who reads this, can not understand… i want to hold him close and press my face into his neck but i also want to step back just to watch him in silence and admire every curve of his body and every color of his face. i want to put little flower seeds in every freckle and i want to touch every inch of his skin to warm my hands that go cold the moment they're not touching him.
i must sleep but the excitement of our future life is keeping me awake… but if i stop writing i can look at him instead and do so until i finally fall asleep, or until he wakes up. yes, that is what i’ll do…
[ andrew shakes his head, forgetting
the movement can barely be seen
under his helmet, and stares at the
various items in quiet melancholy
until julius captures his attention
once more by dangling a tiny
wrapped stone in front of his
eye-slits. a smile cracks his lips. ]
I think so.
[ he loves how julius throws himself
to easily in and out of character –
it’s harder for him to break past
the barrier of self-consciousness
and fully embrace his fantasy
persona in the real world. but
even if he’s not the best actor,
he can still uphold his character’s
duty. straightening up, he offers, ]
Uh – let me buy it for you, as
part of your gift. For protection.
For protection.
{ julius smiles, the glued-on little silver stars
under his eyes shifting when he does so. the
straightening of andrew’s back is quite comical,
almost like this famous “dragonborn" had forgot
his duty of protecting this fragile and
damselesque prince that is standing
beside him. ( although, he doesn't like
the thought of io being weak. one day
he'll come up with a backstory that'll make
him a great fighter. one day, maybe, when
andrew has the time to join him. ) io blesses
the stone with lunar magic by pressing a light
kiss to it before placing it in akira’s palm, cheeks
slightly rosy and his gaze bashful as he looks
around at the other pieces of jewelry. nothing
seems to be in the style of the dragonborn’s
armor. he does, however, gently pull a thin
silver chain off of a small display shelf, as
they will need something to hang the pendant
in. he places that in akira’s hand, too. }
Perhaps you'll let me buy you a meal
later as thanks for looking out for me.
[ andrew follows his enthused
companion up to a booth
selling a wide array of jewelry,
from wrapped crystals to silver
rings to pendants shaped like
dragon’s claws. through the
narrow slits in his mask andrew
squints at it all, immediately
overwhelmed by all there is to
see at just this first booth.
he gives a shrug within his
armor to julius’ question. ]
I dunno – I’ve, uh…
actually never been.
[ his tone’s a bit sheepish,
but it’s not like he had many
opportunities to, considering
his sick mother and lack of
personal transportation
before he learned to fly. ]
I always wanted to go to
one, but my, um… my
family never took me.
{ leading his friend to the nearest booth that
isn’t totally cramped by people in earthy woolen
clothing, excitement fills him to the brim when
he sees handiwork in silver and brass, both
hanging on display but also lying close together
for others to inspect and touch. there’s jewelry
and glass bottles filled with liquid in different
colors, probably made to be imagined as
magic potions. the bottles in themselves
are beautiful, but so are the necklaces, and
julius grows particularly interested in a silver
pendant… he rolls it gently in his hand as he
turns to andrew standing beside him, wondering
what expression it is that he’s wearing underneath
the helmet. he can’t quite make out what his tone
means. }
No?
{ the thought is a bit strange as he had two
close friends, and maybe more that he just
hasn’t mentioned to him yet. although, if they
didn’t find this particular thing fun they wouldn’t
have gone, just like julius never would go to a
wrestling match. but maybe they could have
sacrificed a day just for the company. but it’s
too late now. he chooses not to mention what
could have been. instead, he smiles at him,
because he’s here now, with him, and they’re
going to have the best day ever. ( julius decided
that the moment he opened his eyes this
morning. ) he holds up the pendant to him: a
cage made of silver, just barely the size of a
fingernail, trapping a pearlescent stone. }
Tell me, Dragonborn, do you sense
any virtuous magic in this? Do you
think it’ll protect us during this day
that we’re going to spend together?
[ timbo takes a moment to glance around the room a bit, not paying attention to some words that are thrown about in the air around him. at the wiggles of his brows at some shiny stuff and the tingle in his ears when the other male starts mentioning his kind and humankind together, he reunites his eyes back toward the other body in the room.
but, soon his eyes drift to the floor, saddened like a puppy dog as he begins to delve deeper into his kind. well…as deep as he pays attention to when the span isn’t so short. ]
I-uh…there aren’t a lot of us… Uh..mostly hunted by humans…um… I think I’ve met humans before..I think. Got this whole nature thang.. Mother hates us…
[ a frown is forced on his face as he lifts his filthy hand up to rub the opposite arm in an uncomfortable manner. he doesn’t make much sense, surely not at first thought for a stranger, but it certainly makes the wheels in his own mind turn with ease. it hurts to think about it…it hurts deep into his chest… he can’t help but to move the hand from his arm to the right side of his thoracic cavity, rubbing gentle circles because of the discomfort. ]
I see.
{ julius bites his tongue, wanting to know
if he was killed by a human but also having
enough common sense to let him tell when
he feels ready to, if at all. it’s not important,
anyhow. he doesn’t know how anyone died
aside from himself and andrew. or maybe
he didn’t die at all. maybe “mother nature”
pushed him away in rejection. that thought
hurts quite a lot, despite this boy still being
a stranger to him. timbo, he called himself.
julius hasn’t heard that name before. }
You’re safe here anyhow, Timbo.
Nature can’t hurt you here. Closest
thing to real nature is an hour long
busdrive away.
{ julius stands and gently approaches him,
sitting down beside him. the blankets are
wrinkled from the heavy weight they just
endured. }
Do you have a room of your own
yet? Is that why you came into mine,
because you don’t have your own
bed to sleep in?
[ julius can’t see the bright beam
that splits his face beneath his
helmet, but rest assured it appears
as soon as he sees julius practically
vibrating with excitement. immediately
he’s reassured that getting these faire
tickets for them as julius’ last christmas
present was something he won’t regret. ]
Let’s go check it out.
[ his smile can be heard in his near-giddy
tone as he starts off on the path, eager
to check out all the booths and immerse
himself in the atmosphere of the faire. ]
{ julius is a grinning mess of a prince — who
he conveniently decided to name io last night
while looking at the moon while eating the last
meal of his day — but the royal manners he
probably should lay bare if he wants to stay
in character aren’t something he keeps in
mind. no, he’s too enchanted, too in love
with the atmosphere of harps and flutes to
pretend to be unmoved by all of it. nodding
frantically, he steps towards the cluster of
people, all dressed in earthy colors and
homemade sword belts. ( he, himself,
stands out quite a lot because of the
palette, but he’s delighted to see a woman
or two that also went as what seems like
elven queens. ) making sure that andrew
is following him, he heads for the nearest
stand, unknowing yet of what it is. }
[ another head tilt occurs to lean toward the opposite side. ‘i’d tell you if i knew’? what does that even mean??? he brings his palm to rub his right temple as he gives his double quite the confused look. this whole thing completely boggles his mind. ]
What’s that even mean?
[ what kind of place truly is this? timbo is starting to recognize more and more that all of these faces are exactly alike, including his own. it’s so……..unreal. his palm moves to copy julius’ movements, cupping his own cheek. how did he even get here? how did anyone else get here? all of this thinking about something so huge is making timbo’s chest hurt.
but, thank goodness julius changes the subject to point toward his species. it, at first, makes him a tad puzzled. how does someone that is a stranger to timbo knows about his kind? there were so little of them… oh, wait… ]
Yeh! I was gonna ask how ya knew…but that’s only ‘cuz I turned into one!
[ a dumb smile strikes across his face, teeth glaring from a small chuckle. ]
That I would tell you why we look
the same if I knew, but I don’t. No
one does, really.
{ julius keeps the smile on. god knows
how much a new person in this house
needs a comforting presence when
they’ve just arrived. confusion and fear
are usually the two emotions that
shakes a mind, but this boy seems
at ease. maybe he’s from somewhere
where a lot of weird things happen, or
maybe he’s too shocked to act like he
should. either way, he seems friendly,
and not like he wants to kill him, so
julius relaxes enough to turn into a
welcoming committee. }
I’ve never met a werepanther before.
Have you met a human before?
[ as soon as andrew and julius step through the
gates and into the renaissance faire, they’re
transported into a different world. they’re still
in the same upstate forest that they had just
arrived in by bus, but the whole atmosphere
has instantly and entirely transformed. all around
them walk people wearing fantasy costumes,
carrying swords and wands and dressed in armor,
corsets, and cloaks, some even adorned with fairy
wings and horns. the wide paths that wind through
the fairground are lined with decorated tents and
booths selling all manner of medieval wares, their
owners all dressed up as well, just as deeply dedicated
to their characters as the fairgoers. as andrew enters
the crowd in his own set of homemade daedric armor,
he takes a deep breath to calm his excited nerves and
inhales the scent of the pines mingled with the
tantalizing smell of fried and roasted food, the
earthy musk of leather and fur, and the haze of
incense drifting from the tents up ahead. with a
grin spreading over his lips, he glances over at julius,
who stands beside him dressed in his own glittery costume,
and then slips on his helmet. it’s all brand new,
but it’s already everything he’d imagined. ]
{ julius recalls a time in which he dressed up
in his grandfather’s inherited cloaks and hats,
pretending to be a good-hearted thief with a
homemade bow and a money-bag his mother
made him embroidered with red thread and
tied together with a thin leather string. he
remembers hiding behind trees and boulders,
listening closely for footsteps or rustling leaves.
licking fingers to see what way the wind blew.
reading letters from pretend-lovers wishing
him well on his journeys. a golden time, a
golden time…
… and now julius feels nostalgic, although
they just came. his costume has been slightly
altered because of the chillier weather. ( for
example, he’s not barefoot, but is rather
wearing tights that fade from pale pink to
blue, and on his feet are shoes made out
of white lace — originally for women but
thanks to julius’ size they still fit. ) looking
around, he breathes in the fresh air of the
forest, but also the lovely smell of food and
sweets; listens to the sound of a harp someone
plays nearby and to laughter and loud
conversations… julius might burst out
of his skin. he might even be bouncing
in place, turning to andrew. }
[ when he feels the first ginger brush of contact
andrew jolts, his heart jumping up behind his adam’s
apple and making it impossible to breathe or swallow.
he thought that turning around would allow him to
maintain some sense of control over the situation,
but now that julius is touching him he feels immensely
vulnerable. the fingers tracing his scar don’t hurt him,
per say, but he still feels a phantom something, some
strange tug deep inside him each time they meet it,
like julius is touching his soul along with his body.
goosebumps raise along his spine as julius’ warm
breath travels over it and his ribs flex and tense with
a sharp inhale when he feels his lips grace his skin.
all the blood pounding in his throat has rendered his
face bright red, not that julius can see it while he’s turned
away with his chin tucked nervously to his collarbones;
he doesn’t know how to react his words other than to force
himself to breathe into the arm clinging to him and try his
very best not to let the tears burning the corners of his
eyes spill over. finally he manages to shudder out: ]
You too.
[ because he is, he really is – despite everything
that’s happened between them, he’s always been,
and always will be, happy that the war-torn boy who’d
left his life in andrew’s hands had become a part of his. ]
