★ ☂ i couldn't pick, so you can 8D )
They were rock and gas and fire and Ulysses felt that if he looked at them alone for one minute more he’d die, pressed down to the earth by the very thought of them, those stars that buzzed and hummed above him. Half his body was hanging out the window, fingers clutching the sill, the paint peeling more when he tightened his grip and pulled himself inside, pupils blown and voice quieter than he thought, then louder.
“Trev? Trev! Come here. Please? Come here.” The words were melting as he said them; Ytzak had dumped him over the phone, no reason given, a quick three minutes that were followed by a five minute crying jag and a two minute choice of pills to assuage the grief.
Victor had just gotten home, back to the flat they were both calling home, though Ulysses was technically the one on the lease. Even so, sometimes he slept on the couch and his guest slept in his bed, sometime he and Victor and Mags would fall asleep on the couch together, a bit tangled, slim jean-covered limbs and arms with bangles or rolled up cotton sleeves, the echoes of Mags’ laughter and her whispered “We can totally share him, Twiz” lingering in the morning light.
The tall man walked to the bedroom, struck by the burst of cold air from the window. He’d dropped his jacket by the front door, regretted it now, looked at his friend and pondered what he’d taken together, wondered if it was a good night for him to take them too.
“Is everything alright, Ulysses?” In the dim light, it was harder to read the Welshman’s expression.
“Come over here, Trev. Come look at the stars.” Slurred voice, cottony soft accent. There was no reason not to acquiesce; Victor walked over and both of them leaned out of the window, awkwardly turned upwards towards the chill dark night sky. Four hands on the sill, twenty fingers, Ulysses’ covered with little scars from the chemistry lab and Victor’s slim and almost reflecting the moon above them.
“They’re a bit lovely tonight,” Victor commented mildly, turning to watch Ulysses profile as the other young man looked up.
“No…Lord, Trev, they’re coming right down onto me. Everything’s coming right down. It’s all I can think about. If I don’t watch them, they’ll fall even faster.” As Ulysses spoke, Victor frowned. Maybe this wasn’t a combination of chemicals he wanted racing through his veins.
“It’s alright there, Ulysses. Honestly. Come inside and we’ll have some tea. The stars will stay put, I promise.”
Ulysses shook his head, still looking up.
“It’s all I can think about, Trev. Μπορώ να σας βοηθήσω.” His mouth wrapped around the Greek comfortably, desperately. And Victor didn’t know what it meant, but he felt the meaning as he wrapped one of his hands over Ulysses’ on the chipped sill. There wasn’t an answer, no words would suffice, but he pressed his fingers over his friend’s as though they were piano keys, a silent duet, feeling Ulysses’ fingers react under his as he recognized the song. Something to blot out the stars’ drowning song above their heads
