Stevie glanced into the gym, heaving a breath of relief at seeing Dr. Danner still seated in the chair in the corner, squinting down at a thick tome of a book in the poor lighting.
He pushed the door nearly shut and stepped back into the hallway. "What's the time?" he asked Damien, who was picking at his shirt over by the open window.
"Like, ten. Just an hour to go." He sighed, crossing his arms. "At least we're getting paid."
Stevie crossed his arms as well, coming to stand before him. "This is honourable work, Damien."
Damien gestured towards the door. "You kidding? They're jumping up and down listening to memes. Any moment now a 'slow' song will come on, and they'll get attached by the hip and rock slowly back and forth in pitch darkness and call it romantic."
There was something off about his tone. Something more than just 'I want to go home; this is boring.' "You're salty," Stevie realized, dropping his arms. "Why are you salty?"
Oh. "You never got a dance yourself, did you?" Stevie asked, voice softer now.
"It's embarrassing," said Damien. The music pouring into the hallway stilled, for a moment, before a far slower tempo turned on. Damien groaned. "There! Jesus, it's so predictable."
"Hm," said Stevie. He clapped his hands together. "Right, so this is a few years too late, but..." He held out his hand. "May I have this dance?"
Damien stared. "Are you serious, dude?"
Another moment passed, then Damien took his hand. "Okay," he said, grip tight in familiar nervousness. "What now?"
"Damien," Stevie said softly, squeezing his hand back, "breathe. It's okay. I won't judge." He took his other hand. "Here, put your hand on my shoulder - good - and I'll have my hand here." Stevie glanced up at him, noting the lines between his eyebrows, the dent in his lip that meant he was chewing on it. "Is this okay?"
Damien took a deep breath. "Yeah," he muttered. "Yeah, it - it's okay. I'm..."
"If you say you're sorry, I'll skin you."
"...not sorry, at all, in any way."
Stevie began moving in a slow waltz. "Do you remember these steps? Heavy, light, light?"
Damien nodded, his whole expression the definition of focus. He followed, though clumsily. "I got it," he said, after a few moments.
"Yes, you do," Stevie said, giving him an encouraging smile. "It's not exactly rocking from side to side, but..."
"Oh, no, no," Damien hurried to say, "this is fine. Absolutely fine. Yes."
Stevie laughed, guiding them in a circle. He ended up with his back facing the wall, the moonlight falling in through the open window and cradling Damien's face.
And Stevie's heart stopped beating for one beautiful moment as his breath was snatched from his chest.
Damien's eyes shone brilliant green, his acne and pimples and cuts and scars glowing not only like stars but with hair-thin constellation lines between them.
Stevie blinked, then stopped altogether, staring at Damien with a sense of falling, falling, the whole universe nestled beneath his ribs.
The spell was not broken by Damien talking. "You... you're glowing," Stevie stuttered.
"I - well, thank you, but - "
"No," said Stevie, tugging at his hands, "you're glowing! Literally! Your eyes are green - I - "
Stevie let go of his hands, stepping back a bit and pulling out his phone. "Stay still," he said, snapping a picture of Damien - Damien, like this, glowing, golden, eyes like emeralds.
"I," said Damien, staring at the phone. His fingers fluttered over his forehead, where a cluster of stars rested by his temple. "I, uh, I have no idea what this is."
Stevie reached up and touched his cheek, right above where one of the constellations sat. "I don't recognize any of them," he murmured.
"I have constellations on my face, and that's what you worry about??" Damien exclaimed, hands fumbling after Stevie's.
Stevie met his eyes - his green, green, inhumanly green eyes. "I think it's beautiful."
Damien stopped fumbling, staring right back down at him. "You - you think?"
"Of course," said Stevie, tugging him down slightly to brush their lips together. "It's you." He pushed him slightly, then followed after - out of the beam of moonlight, and into the shadows of the darkened hallway.
The green eyes and the glowing constellations faded.
"I think this is beautiful, too," said Stevie, and kissed him again.
