~Water is Wet~
Mikleo is beautiful. He's beautiful in the same way water is wet and the sky is blue. This was a truth of the world Sorey had always known and always asserted and it continued to be true even with Elysia at their backs.
The air gets cold around the mountaintop at this time of night and it shows in the small puffs of warm air leaving his mouth as he walks in step behind the water Seraph. The soft crunch of the grass beneath both their feet promises frost in the morning.
Despite the urgency behind their departure and the fact it was Sorey's own decision, he can't help but let his eyes wander their surroundings. He's not sure when they'll be back, so he wants to savor what he can of his home. This clean air, the bright canopy of stars hanging above their heads and the peaceful feeling of knowing they can walk like this without a Hellion attacking them. He brings his gaze back down from the stars to the distant barrier of clouds that shield Elysia from the world. His eyes only linger a moment before shifting to his best friend again, still walking a few paces in front of him. Even though there was urgency, Mikleo wasn't walking fast either.
"I think we're about halfway down the mountain by now." Mikleo read his mind, like always. "We'll get there in time, so don't worry about it."
A smile tugs at his lips at his friend's poorly concealed concern, the knowledge of it warming his heart. He picks his pace up a bit so he can walk in step alongside the other boy, beaming a teasing smile at the Seraph.
"Aw, so you do care!" He quickly side steps the half-hearted punch that he gets in response with an amused laugh.
Despite the darkness around them, the moon is bright enough to reveal the cute dusting of a blush on Mikleo's cheeks.
"S-Shut up! I only said anything because I can practically hear you worrying. It's annoying," or so his friend claims even though the words lack the bite they would have if he actually meant it.
"Mhmm," is all he responds with in a tone that conveys that he doesn't believe Mikleo for a second.
Sure, Sorey knows he himself is a terrible liar and Mikleo knows it too. But the water seraph was just as terrible of a liar as he was, in his opinion.
"Thanks, Mikleo."
"Don't thank me."
They continue to walk quietly side-by-side, Sorey's hand eventually gravitating towards Mikleo's as it's naturally wont to do. The water seraph seems to anticipate it, because about halfway there his hand reaches out too and they wordlessly intertwine their fingers. It's familiar and comfortable, just like Mikleo.
He lifts his gaze to the stars above them again, slightly dimmer than they'd been moments before.
"The stars are beautiful tonight, don't you think?"
From the corner of his eye he can see the water Seraph look up as well with a thoughtful hum.
"So they are," he agrees, the smile he allows only when they're alone gracing his features, "You know, if the lower world's Malevolence is really as bad as Alisha made it sound…they might not see quite as many stars as we can here."
He responds in turn with his own thoughtful hum of agreement. He hadn't thought about that part. Stargazing was something he and Mikleo often did in Elysia on nights when the Celestial Record had been read at least eight times and neither of them could get to sleep. But, he thinks, even if the stars won't be as bright in the lower lands it'll be okay because—
"'It's okay Mikleo, because in losing the stars we'll gain a whole world of ruins!', am I right?"
A soft laugh bubbles up from his chest at how accurate the impression was and he gently squeezes where their hands are connected as he answers, "Exactly!"
Ahead of them a ways he notices a small rock outcropping along the mountainside, the fog of the clouds they were walking through seeming to fade near it. He tugs gently on their linked hands to catch his friend's attention, guiding them both through the fog and toward the cliff. Passing through the barrier of the clouds that concealed Elysia's existence was something neither of them had done before. With the way the fog started to thin gradually into a fine mist, he feels that just a little beyond it, they could both see the whole world. He squeezes Mikleo's hand in his own to silently convey his excitement, receiving an equal squeeze in return.
With each step forward the mist grew thinner and thinner and Sorey could feel his heart beginning to beat loudly in his ears in a way it had only done so a few times before, a thrum of excitement radiating out from his heart and bursting into a wide grin on his face.
"Mikleo, look!" he exclaims, unlinking their hands to allow himself to burst through the last threads of mist and run towards the cliff.
He stops a safe distance from the edge, gazing out toward the view of the world below with wide-eyed wonder. Far in the distance on the horizon that he vows to someday reach, the sun is beginning to rise with its first rays bathing the world in a pale yellow light and creating a gradient of blacks and purples across the sky. He feels almost breathless at the sight.
"This is our world," he states, voice light and airy in a reflection of the wonder he feels.
Reluctantly, he averts his gaze from the gorgeous view to turn and observe Mikleo's reaction. Once again, the air leaves his lungs and gets caught in his throat at the sight he sees instead.
Much like his own, the seraph's eyes are wide and shimmering a bit in what Sorey recognizes to be Mikleo's own version of excitement. The morning light bathes them both in soft hues of yellow, pink and purple, but the colors dance against his friend's features like a shimmering symphony of incandescence. The soft hues of pink swirl and mix into the purple of his eyes, making them stand out more brilliantly than they normally do. The pale yellows waltz across the white and aquamarine of his hair, making it seem to Sorey as if Mikleo has a halo of multi-colored light. It reminds him all at once just how beautiful, just how amazing this boy really is.
He forgets to breathe. He doesn't even realize his mouth was hanging open until Mikleo's gaze shifts to him, confusion and concern replacing the previous wonder.
"What's wrong?" Mikleo's head is tilted now slightly, in a way that shifts his bangs just slightly and allowing the light of the sun to catch the gold of his circlet.
A sudden inhale as the memory of breathing returns to him and he closes his mouth once he takes a few deep breaths in order to offer the other boy a reassuring smile. He can feel his heart beating loud and rhythmic against the bones of his ribcage and in his ears still, but for an entirely different reason now.
"Nothing," he answers finally, truthfully, because in all actuality everything feels right in this moment.
He holds his hand out wordlessly to Mikleo, his expression as soft and warm as his beating heart, "C'mere."
The concern has since left the other boy's eyes, but a hint of confusion still remains. Despite that, their hands find each other again and Sorey gently pulls Mikleo closer to him, leaning down to press their lips together. His friend is only startled for a moment before he feels the other leaning into it as well.
They linger like this for who knows how long, the world having dissolved into a condensed bubble where only he and Mikleo reside. For just a moment, all worries of Alisha being in danger have left him. For just this moment, he can pretend that they're setting out on the world-wide adventure they always dreamed about, instead of racing against an unknown clock to protect a new friend.
He doesn't break the kiss and right himself until his lungs begin to scream for air, though he keeps his eyes fixed on Mikleo's face, still admiring the beauty of this boy he's lucky to have. Mikleo is slower to react, still recovering from the unexpectedness of the kiss. Their hands still linked palm-to-palm, the seraph averts his gaze shyly, Sorey now noticing the new shade of pink being added to his friend's cheeks.
A comfortable silence hangs between them, Sorey's eyes wandering still over the sight of the other boy's face, wanting to savor it before the sun rises too high and loses this kaleidoscope of colors.
Finally, Mikleo lifts his gaze to Sorey again, though the tinge of pink remains on his cheeks. He opens his mouth as if he's about to speak before closing it again, pausing for only a moment before giving it another try,
"W-What was that for?"
The question only makes the grin from before return. When he answers, his voice is soft and gentle, achingly honest in a way only Mikleo ever gets to hear it,
"Because you're beautiful. And…" he trails off as he shifts his gaze back out over the cliff, the hills below becoming more visible as the sun draws higher, "we're finally seeing the world below the mountain. So, I wanted the first thing we share together in this world to be a kiss."
Mikleo listens attentively, as usual, his face growing visibly redder as Sorey goes on. He casts his gaze to the side again shyly, but makes no move to disagree. Instead he hums in a way that's both acknowledgement and agreement and for Sorey, that's all the answer he needs.
"Let's go," he says softly, though his voice is beginning to go back to his earlier excitement.
Mikleo nods with verbal agreement and together they return to their walk down the mountain. Keeping one hand intertwined with the other's, they make their way down the slope to the forest at the mountain's base.
Sorey decides as their hands gently swing between them that no matter what happens with Alisha or with anything else that may occur in this new world of theirs, none of it will be a problem because he has Mikleo with him.
Because water is wet, the sky is blue, and Mikleo is beautiful.