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hunter hello! this got so out of hand but I hope you like it! 💛
Eliott’s nervous.
He shouldn’t be, maybe, with all the other boys egging him on, telling him to finally confess, but he is. Because it’s Lucas.
They’re making their way through the trees, the quiet of the forest surrounding them, and it’s just the two of them. It’s been a while since Lucas has let it be just the two of them.
The night has become exactly what Eliott hoped for. The forest is calm and quiet, only broken by the occasional frog chirping or insect buzzing. It’s dark, but the moon is wide and bright and the sky is clear, and the stars, the reason he’s dragging Lucas out here at all, are brilliant.
They’re moving quickly, Eliott eager to get to the spot he found earlier – a wide clearing surrounded by tall trees, perfect for stargazing. They’re walking in silence but the beating of Eliott’s heart fills his ears, a deep thrumming that reminds him of what he’s set out to do. They’d left the other boys behind, trying to light a fire, Yann winking at him as he’d pulled Lucas away and Eliott knows it’s now or nothing.
Next to him Lucas trips on a stray root and swears, grasping onto Eliott’s arm to steady himself and Eliott nearly stops breathing. It still amazes him, the kind of effect Lucas has on him.
They finally reach the clearing and Eliott pulls Lucas to a stop, close to him and looks up, up, hoping that Lucas follows his gaze.
“This is what I wanted to show you,” Eliott says softly. “The sky you can’t see from the city.”
Eliott hears Lucas’ breath catch as he looks up and sees it – the sky a glittering patchwork of diamonds free from the distractions and pollution of Paris – and Eliott has to look at him. It’s beautiful: the sky and Lucas looking at it.
Eliott tears his eyes away from Lucas’ profile to look back, remembering what he’s planned, searching his brain for all the constructions and patterns he’s memorized. He knows he has to find Ursa Major first and go from there, otherwise he’ll get lost in it all and won’t be able to find the rest of them.
“There,” Eliott says, extending his arm and pointing at a shape in the sky, “that’s the Big Dipper.”
Lucas’ eyes follow Eliott’s hand to search it out and then he steps closer, perhaps under the pretext of needing to look from where Eliott sees it, but Eliott doesn’t mind.
“It’s the four stars there that make the ladle,” Eliott whispers, his mouth close to Lucas’ ear, “and then those three,” he moves his finger tracing it, “are the handle.”
He feels Lucas shudder next to him.
But then, almost as if he’s been broken out a trance, Lucas claps his hands excitedly and jumps back, twisting under the constellations as he looks.
“Which means, there, that’s Cassiopeia,” Lucas says excitedly, Eliott’s hand dropping as his heart speeds up. He hadn’t anticipated Lucas already being able to map out the sky. He’d wanted to impress him, wow him, and yet, somehow this is better.
“And there! That’s the Little Dipper,” Lucas continues, his hand tracing the sky, “which means that star – the bright one, there-” His hand stops. “That’s the North Star.”
Lucas stops suddenly, and turns to face Eliott, his face somber, his eyes wide. “Polaris,” he whispers.
And Eliott can’t take it, he can’t hold back anymore, can’t hide everything written there in his heart.
“Lucas,” he says quietly, stepping closer, “we need to talk.”
Lucas takes a step back. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he says, his brow creasing and Eliott wants to smooth it away.
“I messed up,” Eliott tries, his voice pleading as it cuts through the stillness of the night.
“I know, I get it,” Lucas whispers. “Don’t worry about it. We can just pretend it never happened.”
“Lucas, that’s not what I meant,” Eliott says again, reaching out and grabbing Lucas’ hand in his own. Lucas doesn’t pull away. “I meant I did it wrong when I kissed you last time, and I’m wondering if you’d let me try again.”
Lucas stills, his head whipping up to face Eliott, his eyes wide, a sudden hope sparking there.
“What?”
“Let me try again. Please.”
Lucas stands there for a moment, frozen, but then a smile breaks across his face and he’s nodding as he steps closer.
“Okay,” he says.
So Eliott steps forward and kisses him.
