Gazing Flowers [Trade Commission]
My half of the trade I did with @clancykisser, writing a lil domestic peak into him and Clancy having a lil date, though not without some notable build up! You can also find my half of the trade here! He did me and Peppermint together :3
Word count: 1549
Taglist: @moondane-lovers, @mrs-goemio, @dailybuglebunny, @zidgelszweetheart, @mikesterreal, @mayberry-loves-ships, @pumpkinpatchdarling, @mutts-self-ship-adventures, @sketchy-tour, @themotionwaltz, @hero-coded, @midgelslovebug, @bizarrescribblez
Something felt off for Axel.
Well, in truth, nothing actually felt off, so to speak. If anything, things were actually going pretty good for him and Clancy, for the first time in a while. They were not only making music that was making both of them happy, but it was performing rather well amongst their followers. They were rather comfortably on top of rent, and were easily able to stock up their apartment for the next two weeks with groceries. The weather was nice, they were eating well, and they were making art they were proud of. On top of all of that, of course, the two have never felt more in love with each other.
That is, as far as Axel knew. He knew he had never loved Clancy more, as he usually gushed to Torchbearer that he loved Clancy more everyday. This wasn’t to say he doubted Clancy loved him, far from it, actually. The way he always gave him long, drawn out good-morning kisses, the way he clung to him whenever Axel was cooking dinner, or even in the way he snuggled up close to him every night like he was an Axel-sized plushie. Despite being a songwriter, it seemed expressing love verbally came hard to Clancy, but it was always clear how he felt through his acts, which Axel didn’t mind in the least bit.
Something was up, though, and it was making Axel worried. Lately, Clancy has been getting up earlier than he had, staying in the living room while he cooked, and even coming to bed later. For what felt like most of this past week, Clancy has been even quieter than usual, not even wanting to exchange with his partner at all. Axel has tried to confront him on this, but he would only ever get a mumbled non-answer. It was like a switch had gone off in his mind Sunday night, and he hasn’t been the same since Monday morning.
“This does sound rather unlike Clancy,” Torchbearer remarked after hearing Axel regale him of the past week. The two were out at a local cafe, enjoying some drinks. “You have tried asking him about this right?”
“As much as I could,” Axel sighed, eyes falling down to his drink, which he aimlessly stirred. “I don’t want to pry too heavily, but it’s getting to the point that it’s starting to concern me. Even beyond our relationship, that something is…wrong with him.”
Torchbearer nodded, closing his eyes and crossing his arms. “Wait,” he voiced, catching Axel’s attention. “I recall a moment like this before…a few years back, between him and I. He was dead silent for a few days, and then showed off he had a new song he wrote. He said he was stuck on the chorus for a bit, so that might be why he was so quiet.”
Axel blinked. “You think he’s got a new song?”
“Could,” he shrugged. “Could also be he’s just thinking deeply about something. He has some kind of idea in his mind, and is saving all his mental focus to just handle that for now. If he’s been like this the whole week…it’s probably big.”
Axel gave a slow nod, sighing a little. “Big enough to ignore me?”
“If you’re worried it’s something bad, I’d advise you to dash those concerns,” Torchbearer exclaimed, taking Axel’s hand. “Clancy can be enigmatic at times, but never when it comes to his love for you. Whatever it is, it’s probably some grand romantic gesture of sorts. You know how artists are.”
“Heh…yeah,” Axel chuckled, smiling a bit. That had to be it, right? He’s known Clancy for a few years now, he knew that he loved him. They did falter here and there with proper communication, but at the end of the day they did talk to each other on issues before they got too out of hand. Surely, if there was an issue, Clancy would have said something days ago. Even then, though, a bit of self doubt still clung to his mind. He just wished he could know what was on his boyfriend’s mind, what he was planning, if anything.
Days passed, and still the same event occurred, so to speak. For any consolation, it was not as if Clancy was acting more distant than he was already; in fact, it seemed to be that he was actually coming closer than he had been over the past week. It wasn’t the same as it had been before, but it did give Axel some reprieve to see Clancy standing at the kitchen counter than practically a thousand miles away on the living room couch while he cooked dinner. It was at times like this Axel caught certain expressions on his face, ones that he knew quite well. The kind of face Clancy only made when he was thinking on something deep, usually whenever he wrote. He had teased that it always looked like he was worrying over something, though seeing it now gave Axel himself some worry.
Eventually, the work week came to an end, with Axel trudging up his steps towards his apartment. Maybe it was just a stressful week for him, Axel told himself, trying to keep a positive outlook on it all. I know work really sucks him dry when it comes to his creativity, so maybe it also—huh?
Upon reaching his apartment door, he found a bright blue piece of construction paper folded in half taped to his door, his name written on it in a somewhat sloppy cursive font. Pulling it off and opening it, all that was written was ‘Lobber’s Hill, Temsik Park - C’ and a crude little doodle of Clancy with a large heart. For the first time in a while this whole week, Axel felt a warmth in his heart, and a relaxed smile on his face.
Of course it wasn’t going to be anything bad, Axel thought to himself, nodding his head along to the random song playing on the bus’s radio. Clancy was just being…Clancy. I do wish he was a bit less foreboding about things, but I guess that’s who he is.
By the time he got to the park, the sun was getting low under the horizon, and the first stars were starting to appear in the sky. Lampposts illuminated most of the main walkways, but up on the hill, the place Axel knew where to go, it stayed nice and dark. Tonight, however, as he came up onto the hill, he found that there was a single, small light there waiting for him, giving a light glow to a certain beanie-wearing individual who had his back turned to him.
“All alone on a Friday night, huh?” Axel spoke up, with a teasing edge.
Clancy tensed for a moment, and glanced back at his partner. For a second, he looked a little shocked, before relaxing. “Sorry, I was…I thought you’d be here earlier.”
“Traffic was pretty heavy. Both on the way back from work and the way here to the park. Hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long.”
“Just in time, actually.” Clancy stood up, revealing a small bouquet of sunflowers in his arms. Axel’s face lit up, happily accepting a gift and taking in the soft yet prominent scent of them. “I wanted to get them at the freshest possible time…had to make a special order at a store a few miles up the road.”
“They’re beautiful,” Axel smiled, looking up at his boyfriend. “Is that what was taking up your mind this past week?”
The songwriter blushed a tad, glancing away. “I wanted it to be a surprise, and I was worried I’d let it slip out when talking with you. I didn’t mean to come off any certain way, if I happened to.”
“A little, but it’s okay,” Axel assured him, taking his hand. “It made for a beautiful night, I must say.”
Clancy seemed to relax upon hearing that, and then gestured at the blanket he had laid out. “Care to gaze with me?”
His partner nodded, and the two were soon laying side by side, looking up into the beautiful night sky. The night was still young, but the park was far enough from the city lights such that they could see the true majesty of the cosmos before them. They took turns pointing out constellations, first the ones they knew, before shifting into just making up ones, trying to make the other laugh with sillier and sillier explanations on how Shelbo the Shoemaker vanquished the mighty hydra.
During a respite between laughter, a thought occurred to Axel, prompting him to turn to his partner. “Hey…was this for any particular occasion? It wasn’t an anniversary, was it?”
Clancy shook his head. “I just wanted to do something special for ya,” he replied, turning to face him with a soft smile. “Cause I think you’re really special.”
Axel blinked, his expression dropping for a second, before a smile spread across his face, light tears forming in his eyes as he pulled himself over to Clancy, giving him a gentle kiss that his partner returned in full. “I love you,” he whispered, as he snuggled close to him.
“I love you, too, Axel,” he whispered back, hugging his boyfriend tight.
