on one foggy erid morning…
ryland’s out of the house in a hurry, hastily hitching his cardigan over his shoulders. colt may have accidentally caused him to be late by asking for 10 more minutes of cuddling.
he pleads the fifth.
right before the door shuts behind him, colt steps into the frame, catching it and tugging it back open.
“wait, ry,” he calls. ryland stops and turns immediately, just a couple feet away. “you forgot to—”
“oh,” ryland interrupts, a smile blooming on his face. “of course.”
he takes the few steps required to reach colt, then leans in and kisses him. hand cupping his jaw, short and sweet.
he’s warm, as he always is. his lips are soft.
colt’s body goes completely and utterly still.
inside his brain, something is crashing and burning.
ERROR 404. colt.exe has stopped working.
“thank you,” ryland says after he pulls back, eyes creasing. “good luck with the garden!”
he’s already halfway down the steps by the time colt fully processes what just happened.
“—bring the… papers…” he extremely belatedly finishes. his voice is weak and wavering.
colt stands there like that, frozen stiff and unmoving, for long enough that he can no longer see ryland’s silhouette down on the beach.
there’s a suffocating warmth filling him up from head to toe. he physically feels the way it blooms from his lips, out into his cheeks and ears, then down his neck to the rest of him.
that was… so domestic.
“have a… good day at work…” colt whispers to the air, just to test how it feels to say. his throat clicks when he swallows.
he realizes his fingertips are tingling.
that… oh. oh man.
colt’s heart starts kicking into overdrive. numbly, in cresting awe, he touches his lower lip.
wow.
he hears wedding bells in the distance.
