10,000 Lightning Bugs
Just a little quick Taddison thing I've been on and off thinking about for awhile. Will probably upload to AO3 eventually but I just don't have the energy right now.
No content warnings apply
The sun has barely set - it's gone from the sky, but a vivid dusting of reds and oranges remains in its place. It's not quite enough to light the thick woods, but instead leaves them in a thin, dusky darkness.
It is, in Addison's mind, the perfect time. The woods around his home are spectacularly alive - full of bird songs and frog calls and everything in between. It is also one of the best times for fishing - which is what finds him sat on a damp, muddy shore, line and a single foot both in the water.
Every now and then, he hears the crunch of leaves or a snap of a stick from somewhere behind him. Addison had tried to introduce Trep to the concept of fishing - but the Impostor had found the activity entirely too passive. Addison had also tried telling Trep that he didn't have to come out just to be bored - but Trep had insisted, nonetheless. Whether he was being watchful, or just enjoyed being outside in some capacity, Addison couldn't be sure.
He wasn't going to say no to the company, though.
The sudden quiet is deafening, and as soon as Addison registers it he feels the hairs on his neck rise. It's stupid, he knows that logically - this is not a ship in space, besieged by others who could possibly equal Trep. This is earth, and the woods Addison grew up in, and a place in which Trep was by and far the most dangerous thing.
Still, he can't shake the unease. So Addison stabs his fishing rod into the bank, gets to his feet, and turns to investigate. He bites his tongue, at first, with caution honed on dangerous journeys - but then Addison shakes his head with an internal scowl.
Woods. Home. The biggest threat is Trep deciding it'd be fun to jump him from the quickly growing shadows.
"Trep?" He calls, and he staunchly ignores the part of him that finches at the obvious echo of his own voice.
"Over here."
Trep's voice - close and calm - is an instant balm. The anxiety that had been rapidly building in Addison dissipates almost as quickly, and in its place it leaves curiosity. He follows the voice, pushes through a clump of bushes and grass, and comes to a stop when he spots Trep standing in a small, partially overgrown clearing.
The area is practically ablaze with fireflies. They pulse in alternating patterns that keep the encroaching darkness at bay. For Addison, it isn't a new sight - but that doesn't detract from the beauty of it. And even if he weren't awed by the fireflies themselves, there was no way he could have ignored Trep.
The glow of the fireflies echoes off of Trep's skin, his hair - but most catchingly are his eyes. He is staring at the scene around him in something approaching wonderment, and the light glinting off his widened eyes makes them sparkle and dance and shine. He reaches a hand out towards a cluster of fireflies, watches them flit haphazardly away from his fingers. Addison can see Trep breathing - slow but shallow things.
It's such a strange sight, so soft and unlike the bloodthirsty Impostor at its center. Addison finds himself taken in regardless - struck in place as heated adoration swells in his chest. It takes him a long moment to move again, but when he does he crosses over to Trep and stands just behind the Impostor.
"They're like tiny stars," Trep says, a hush in his voice as if he's afraid to spook them.
"Watch," Addison says. He steps slightly around Trep, then reaches out and carefully cups his hands around a firefly. He turns towards Trep, opens his hands, and watches as Trep's eyes follow the quickly fleeing bug. The Impostor is quick to mimic - he steps forward, his eyes seem to focus, and then he reaches out and manages to curl his hands carefully around a small handful of fireflies.
Trep brings his hands to his face and carefully opens them - there is a brief burst of glow along the skin of his cheeks, and then the fireflies scatter away from him. His eyes dart quickly, hopping between each bug until they merge once more into the grand collection surrounding them both.
"Beautiful," Trep says after a long second, eyes turned slightly up at a group of fireflies that climb high into the sky.
"Beautiful," Addison agrees - but his eyes continue to trace the glow that dances along Trep's cheeks.









