"Out beyond the ideas of wrongdoing and right doing, there is a field.
I'll meet you there."
Rumi
The sunlight was back on Damon's face. The heat was muted, the light somewhere in between twilight and dawn. Damon took his jacket off and lay back in the grass with his hands behind his head.
The sun hanging on the edge of the horizon was really stunning. It felt almost perfect. But something was off. His skin was buzzing and he felt a weight pressing against him. He sat up and unbuttoned his shirt to get more comfortable.
He couldn't tell if the light was getting brighter or diming, deep violets and blues clashing against bolder oranges and reds. His eyes adapted to the half-light as he looked around.
A breeze picked up, carrying the scent of the wildflowers from the meadow past him. He saw a trail of petals floating by, but when he turned to his side to follow them, Stefan was there instead.
"Hey." Damon bumped his hand against his brother's.
"Hey." Stefan smiled softly as he brushed his fingertips along Damon's knuckles. He leaned back on his elbows and looked around. The colors above rippled softly, blending together. Stars peeked through the darkest parts of the sky, but the shimmering horizon glowed brightly. "Wow. Is the sun setting or rising?"
"Somewhere in between, I guess." Damon lay back, tugging Stefan's arm. "I'm so tired of the darkness."
"It's not all darkness." Stefan slid over, lying against Damon's side. "It's beautiful."
The soft light behind them created a hazy glow around Stefan's head. Damon tried not to think about the museums full of paintings of saints and angels with their golden halos. The saviors of the world brought down to save mankind. Damon wasn't mankind, and Stefan wasn't put on earth to save him. He thought again about the gods he didn't believe in. He didn't need them. The radiant light that pierced through his darkness was too good for stories about saints or angels.
"You're beautiful." Damon stared down at him.
Stefan dropped his head and laughed softly. "You're a lot sweeter when you're sleeping."
"You wear too many clothes for how long it took to get you out of them the first time."
Folding his hands over Damon's chest, Stefan rested his chin on top. "Can you tell the difference? Me being there when you're awake, here when you're asleep?"
Damon shrugged. "My dream either way."
"Our dream, actually."
"Oh." Damon curled his hand around the back of Stefan's neck; thumb brushing along the soft skin at the base of his head. "That's cool too."
"That's good." Stefan glanced down at Damon's exposed chest and started picking at the collar of his shirt. "Because I'm not sure how to stop at this point."
Damon reached down, shifting them around before pulling the shirt over Stefan's head. He tossed it behind them and pulled Stefan back down on top of him. They lay there in silence for what seemed like hours. The warm air caressed their skin, and they tangled around each other. It was peaceful. The sun stayed out of reach, not turning too bright or too dark as they held equal control over the shared dream.
"How did you finally get into my head? You used to work so hard for your walls."
Stefan's fingertip traced a nervous circle against Damon's stomach. After a moment, he raised his head, fingers still moving. "I stopped being scared of letting you see everything. How much I want to be here. How much I wanted you."
Damon stared up at the sky for a while, letting Stefan's words sink in. Halo or no, Stefan was still watching over him. "I like you being here."
"I don't know if it will always be like this." Stefan sighed. "Rest, brother."
"You'll stay here with me right?" Damon asked softly.
Stefan brushed his lips against Damon's neck.
