“Hey, Em?” the taller man broke the long silence without looking back at him, and Emory felt a shiver run down his spine instantly with anticipation.
“Hm?” he countered softly, not moving.
He heard Tori scoot closer to him, and suddenly he could feel his presence right by his side, and even if before he hadn’t been so far away, this felt more… intimate.
“What do you believe in?” Tori finally asked and breathed out the question in such a soft voice Emory almost missed it under the low howling of the wind.
He finally turned to face him, finding his eyes stubbornly fixed on the sky. They had been up here, on the roof, for at least two hours now; Tori’s exposed shoulders showed goosebumps from the cold. They had to be from the cold, Emory thought, because between the two of them only the short little redhead had confessed his feelings.
Not that he thought Tori really felt the same towards him. It really didn’t matter right now.
“As in… God? Or something?” he asked, blinking away his stupor. Tori still didn’t turn.
Emory ran his gaze down the slope of Tori’s nose and blinked again. They had been friends for a few years now, Emory adding a complex element to their bond just recently, but he couldn’t recall ever talking to Tori about something like this. Brown eyes narrowed and he pressed on further.
“As in… the well-known, supposedly bearded Catholic God or—“
“As in anything,” Tori said, interrupting him, finally turning to face him, expecting to meet his curious gaze. Emory’s eyes snapped from his nose to the hesitant grey orbs looking at him and smiled slightly.
“It’s okay.” He shrugged. “So? What do you believe in?”
Emory inhaled and turned to face the sky again, and took a moment to find the most honest answer. He had this image, in the back of his brain, like a faded dream within a faded dream. He closed his eyes and inspected each of the memories he had of it, breaking it down, analyzing it. He felt as if he knew what all of it was, but kept forgetting. Tori watched him close his eyes and furrow his brow, deep in thought. He could see glimpses of fights in the darkness behind his eyelids, feel the chaos and the coldness right down to his gut. He could also see him, fluffy mint hair with a blackened hand, shining like a beacon of light, washing over everything with a dull calmness.
“I believe in you,” said the redhead suddenly, surprising himself. His eyes darted open and he didn’t dare to look back at Tori.
He saw grey eyes widen in the corner of his eye, and silently braced himself for whatever was to come. He knew most likely Tori would just dash off—as if the awkwardness could literally kill him.
A wave of laughter hit him like a wall of bricks.
“What?!” he turned, exasperated, to see Tori lying on his back and clutching his stomach from laughing too hard.
“Oh man- oh man! Hooooh, boy…” the taller man said coherently as the laughter finally died down, rolling over to land on his stomach and leaning over his right hand for support. He looked back at Emory and snorted quietly, grey eyes shining with mischief.
“The bloody hell is your problem?” Emory asked himself, torn between being annoyed and amused.
“It’s just… man—“ he chuckled some more “it’s gonna sound terrible, coming from me. It’s just… I can tell. I really can tell.” He exhaled softly, awkwardness threatening to set back down, but Tori smiled and held Emory’s gaze nonetheless.
The redhead blinked and smiled back. “That I…?” he trailed off, hopeful.
“That you have faith in me. In what I aim to be.”
“Because you are. And I love that about you.”
“Yeah.” Tori grinned and looked down, bashful. “Thank you for that.”
Tori sighed softly and turned to face the sky again. A pleasant warmth settled on Emory’s stomach, feeling the taller man’s arm brush against his leg ever so softly. He could fall asleep at any minute now, he thought, hugging his legs, but he didn’t ever want this to be over. The cold air brushed his short hair softly and he breathed in the cold night air with a smile. They were both safe, and alive, he realized.
Hope and Acceptance were for once at peace. And that was everything he wanted for him and Tori.
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