starry night
light 'em up
ely/tarek
an: pre canon. prompt von tears_into_wine
took me so long to find the answers
and your reasons why
i just wanted things to be alright
or at least just for tonight
ely hadn't quite figured tarek out yet, but he was getting closer, step by step. for one, darkness was okay; walls weren't. so they sat outside under the night sky, while daphne, danilo, and bambi were snuggled up inside somewhere, probably already asleep.
sand beneath his shoes, it seemed to be everywhere. tarek had gotten rid of his shoes, of course he had. shoes were alright, mostly; socks not so much. tarek didn't tell, and ely didn't ask, but words were overrated anyway.
"you don't have to stay here, you know," tarek said quietly, avoiding meeting ely's gaze, toes curled up in the cold sand.
ely rolled his eyes, even though tarek wouldn't see. "oh yeah, because i love cold ass floors and bambi's snoring, sign me up," he grunted, gaining the hint of a smile from tarek. "i choose the mosquitos, thank you."
"they're going to eat you alive," tarek reminded him, but ely just shrugged.
"so what, let them."
"you're going to complain for the next three days."
"well, that will be your problem, won't it?"
tarek actually chuckled, and ely meant it in this moment, he really did - screw mosquitoes, what did he care. he felt light, just right now, and it was okay.
the ocean just in front of them, soft waves meeting the beach only metres away. the sand was soft, it was just the two of them.
tarek's hand resting next to his. ely breathed in the salty air, fingertips touching. the sound of the waves, the tingling in his chest.
tarek's hand was sandy and soft and too thin. ely hesitated, a second passed; tarek didn't flinch at his touch.
ely didn't dare to breathe as tarek entangled his fingers with his own. didn't dare looking at him, as he tentatively rested his head on ely's shoulder, messy curls brushing against his cheek.
ely exhaled. distance was okay; proximity wasn't. it wasn't the first time, but every time it happened, ely felt like it might never happen again, like something unique as a butterfly sitting on his fingertips.
it was real, they both were.
minutes passed in silence when tarek mumbled: "i wish i knew something about stars."
"what do you want to know?"
"i don't know. they have names for them, i think."
ely considered for a moment. "okay, you see this one?" he asked, pointing at one of the constellations above them. "that's ... the big doughnut."
"are you serious?" tarek asked, "ely, it's not even a circle."
"trust me, i'm a professional," he reassured him. "and that one, that's the southern umbrella."
"i'm pretty sure you're pointing west right now."
"well, it's summer."
"that doesn't even make any sense."
"you're not making any sense. that's the elephant, by the way. you can only see it in clear nights like today."
"you're so silly," tarek said, but ely could hear his smile. when he didn't reply, tarek asked: "which one is that, the blue tomato?"
"wow, you're a natural," ely admitted.
tarek laughed, shifting his head; ely turned around to face him, barely able to make out his features in the darkness.
ely brought his free hand to tarek's cheek, his fingertips brushing against soft skin. he could hear him sucking in a breath, so ely asked: "is this okay?", the same time tarek said: "it's okay."
they both laughed and ely's heart skipped a beat. he let his fingers slowly wander along tarek's jaw and he could see him closing his eyes, leaning in to ely's touch.
he felt his skin, the bones beneath it, the strands of hair falling in tarek's face, his breath against his fingers.
"tarek," ely started, almost too quiet, "may i -" he swallowed, but tarek waited. then he tried again.
"may i kiss you?"
"yes," tarek replied almost immediately, as quiet as ely.
his heart was beating too fast as he moved closer to tarek, hands trembling, the one still holding tarek's moving to cup his face. ely felt tarek's breath against his skin, the warmth, they were so close; he could almost hear his own heartbeat, and tarek's as well, and just to be sure he asked: "is this okay?"
"it's okay," tarek whispered, leaning in.
and then their lips met.
and ely wanted to take this moment and keep it forever, hold onto it, every second of it. tarek's warm lips against his, he felt so soft and so fragile under ely's touch, he felt like home.
they kissed and ely didn't ever want it to stop, but eventually they parted and tarek whispered "wow" and ely whispered "i really like you", and then they were kissing again and then they weren't and tarek whispered "i really like you, too", and things were okay; tarek was smiling.