* FT / ELIAS:
they fit against him â and itâs not so much like puzzle pieces coming together as it is slow warmth settling against his side, an anchor to the earth under him and between the stars above. ( heâs itching to wish he had his drawing pad with him, the world around him and the feeling in his chest so beautiful that he wants to etch it into permanence before it can forget him. âisnât that what elias is always afraid of? ) elias likes riley like this as much as they like the rest of them. he likes when riley is soft smiles and softer words, gentle tongue telling him truths he doesnât quite know what to make of. they say itâs perfect, and all elias can do is tuck away the rising corners of his lips into a smile that isnât too wide.
( and his heart does something funny with his hand tucked into theirs. he has the overwhelming urge to thread their fingers together, take a thumb to tracing all the ways the blooming in his chest escapes words but fills with feeling â
âbut he doesnât. he doesnât.
instead he swallows it down and folds it away, holds it safe and precious where he can return to it on the times he feel a little bit more lonely in an empty apartment. )
the meteor shower hasnât started yet â the glow of the clock on his phone screen says thereâs still about ten minutes or so till it does â but elias is too busy calming the bird in his chest to count down the minutes. itâs easier to do that when he turns to match their gazes, holds rileyâs until he feels something warm settle around his bones. ( this is riley â itâs riley, thereâs nothing for him to be afraid of here. ) he doesnât know how to reply riley when they speak up again, doesnât know how to do anything but smile a little too wide â bow his head, gaze away, sputter a quiet laugh to dispel the silence because he doesnât quite have the words to do that just yet.
and he takes the silence to piece himself together, to pull on the knots in his chest until he can untangle them and put them to tongue. âi wanted to do something for us.â just us, the unsaid echoes â just as riley had said. turning back to riley, thereâs something warm tinted high on eliasâ cheekbones, but heâs otherwise present. âsomething nice. you alwaysâŠyouâre always here for me.â and heâs unable to elaborate much more on how much that means, his tongue taking guard along the words unsaid. he feels the need to clear something from the air, feels the need to give his smile some room to breathe â - so elias clears his throat, bounces his knee lightly where he can feel theirs touching and turns back to the deep skies ahead of them. âbesides, i promised you a picnic.â thereâs a slightest shake to his voice there, leaf in a breeze, but heâs otherwise proud of how easily heâs able to say the words like theyâre a clever passing comment. he had, hadnât he?
âhave you ever seen one before? -a meteor shower?â itâs easier to speak as easily as he usually can when he doesnât have to look at them, doesnât have to face how his heart starts beating a heavy drum and the fluttering in his chest canât decide if itâs happy or panicked â âi havenât. couldnât even really tell you any constellations, or anythinâ.â
   â AS THE NIGHT GOT DARKER AND THE STARS TWINKLED above them, riley felt completely at ease. it was strange to be this comfortable with someone, to allow themselves to trust someone so completely.
sometimes riley wonders if maybe theyâre seeing this all wrong. as if thereâs some bigger meaning behind the flushed cheeks and whispered promises. but at the same time, riley figured that what they were right now, in that moment, was everything they could possibly want. just being with elias was a best possible outcome to any scenario and riley would spend the rest of their days trying to convince elias to believe them.
( as they were leaning against each other riley felt as if maybe they had succeeded somehow. or, at least, gotten close to it. )
âelias,â they said softly, because everything about elias made riley just melt. âeverything i do is because i want to do it. iâm here for you because i believe youâre worth it. you ââ riley let themselves fall silent, because no words would be enough. just feeling the words get caught in their throat told riley all they needed to know. the amount of things they felt.
so instead of saying everything that was bubbling under the surface they simply smiled. âyou did promise,â they replied. even though riley hoped that elias knew that it wasnât a promise they had intended to hold over his head. a hopeless laugh left their lips, masked with a smile. fuck, riley was in so deep. deeper than they had initially thought. it was forming in their chest like a protective force, wanting to make elias realise his own worth, as well as a flush on their cheeks, trying to break free and warm elias as they still rested against his chest.
it wasnât enough. after a few moments of thinking it over riley took eliasâ hand once more and gently let their fingers find a home between eliasâ. âi havenât,â they stated, still upset about that particular fact. âi had to work last time. which sucked. but i can see them now. with you ... on our picnic.â riley went silent once more, playing with eliasâ fingers as the minutest ticked by. âi think ... could i have one scone now ?â















