Prompt idea: pages :)
Link’s early. He couldn’t sleep last night, which is nearly unheard of for him. Instead of lying in bed tossing and turning, he got up and headed to the gym around 4 am. It’s peaceful at that time of the morning, hardly any cars on the road, no waiting around for his favorite treadmill to free up. His nervous energy lingering from his restless night aided his workout, inciting him to push his body further and further.
When he gets to the office, still dark and quiet in the early morning hour, the box is already there, sitting in the middle of their office. He wonders if he should wait for Rhett to open it. Is this something they should do together? He mulls it over for a moment, but eventually his impulses win out and he tears into the box before he can think about it too much.
The books inside are packed in tight, neat little rows, and it almost pains him to disturb them. But he can’t wait any longer, he needs to feel the weight of one of them in his hands. He picks one up reverently, turning it over in his hands, feeling out its edges. Even though he’s seen it a hundred times by now, he still gets a little thrill at the sight of their names on the cover.
He flips through the pages, the scent of the paper crisp and fresh, yet tinged with nostalgia. A new book always reminds him of being a kid again, reading until all hours of the night under the covers with a flashlight. In the best memories, Rhett’s there with him, whispering into the pages of a favorite novel or comic book. Eventually they’d abandon the book in favor of creating their own stories. They’d dream up worlds and characters, fantastical and silly, always with the goal of making the other laugh. It was during those sleepovers that their bond was formed and cemented. In their fantasy world they were protected, kept safe from a reality that was constantly trying to pull them apart.
The last book they wrote was special too, but there’s always been something about writing fiction with Rhett that has filled him with a particular feeling of contentment. There’s a sense of freedom that lies deep within the worlds they create together. Anything is possible when you are the architect of the universe you’ve created. Everything unspoken between them blooms across the words on the page. The act of creating something binds them together, much like the ampersand between their names on the cover.
As Link flips through the book, early morning sunlight finally starting to stream through the windows, he sees what only he and Rhett could see in it. To him it’s obvious: their love is written on the pages, hiding between the lines.
He hugs the book tight to his chest, blinking away a tear. An hour later, Rhett finally makes it into the office and finds Link fast asleep on the couch, the book still curled up in his hand.
