Night. It pressed like a blanket upon them both. The summer air was hot, it was like the night blanket wrapped firmly around him, seeping into his mouth and eyes. He held the amber bottle in his hand, the pearl droplets dripping onto his skin, retaining their shape.
He tilted the bottle to his lips. The last droplets fell into his mouth. It felt like summer, the best summer he had had in a while was going to be gone tomorrow. It was getting hotter. The dog days were approaching. School would be back. His last year. He didn't know what he was going to do after graduation.
A slow smile curled onto his face. Alright, maybe he did. He reached back for another beer. The cooler was a good five feet away but he could reach it. A hand wrapped around his wrist. He could feel the warmth emanating from it through the material of his shirt.
He whipped his head around and curled his lip. He dead-eyed the hand wrapped around his arm. The lightning quickness that had seized him before he could even touch the bottle.
"What's going on in that busy head of yours?" he asked, smirking.
It was fair to say that he was the brains of the two of them. Mostly, they smashed things. He knew that behind their backs, they were called Bulk and Skull after those ridiculous Power Rangers buffoons. But he was the brains, such as they were. He couldn't turn his head off. Too many thoughts ran through his head for him to keep count.
"School," he replied. "How we're going to get the frosh this year."
He retracted his arm. The other boy allowed himself to be taken with it. He smiled at him wickedly in the dark.
"I say let's make them pay a toll," he suggested.
"Nice. You round 'em up and I'll collect." He rolled his now empty bottle between his hands.
He let his head fall onto his shoulder. These were theirs. Their midnight sojourns with a cooler of beer and the night blanket to wrap around them. No one knew about it and they didn't want anyone to know.
He felt his arm slide around his narrow shoulders. He let the bottle drop and he took his other hand in his. They sat there for awhile, not speaking.
They didn't speak too much to each other. It was mostly a grab in the hallway into a dark corridor with a harsh kiss followed by a pat on the ass. Then they'd be back, tormenting the underclassmen and beating the lame little heroes in Save the Citizen.
But on these little trips, they weren't bullies or villains or anything. They were just Lash and Speed. And a cooler of beer.
He tilted his face up, asking for a kiss. He didn't get the expected. The rough press of lips on his own. He got something different. Soft, tender, full. The type of kisses that could only be shared at night in the dead heat where the night enshrouded them in a blanket that could either suffocate you or help you breathe.
"One more year."
"Yeah. And we're gone."
"We get sidekicks."
"Or henchmen."
They laughed. It hung in the air like a physical being. He wondered that if he reached out for it, he could touch it.
"I kind of don't want it to end," he admitted.
"Fuck that, I do. We get to be in the real world. No restraint on using our powers."
He didn't get it. If they graduated, they wouldn't see each other anymore. They'd be doing villain-y things with their respective sidekicks. Nothing would be the same. No more beer, no more nights.
"Yeah…" he said into the night, looking up at the starless sky.
He reached back for another beer. It wasn't the time for mental, philosophical babble. They had one more year together before they went off into the real world. He wasn't going to waste it worrying about then.