toll on my soul

remi laughed and offered a bright smile to the boy. “thank you, thank you. puns are my specialty along with kick ass card tricks. i’m just a fountain of skill.” 

vance shook his head and said “god, where do you get all of these anyway?”

“oh, okay. if you’re sure. make sure you don’t get a cold though. i think even though it’s pretty much summer, it’s still possible to get a cold.” 

“thank you, gem,” he smiled soft, “i’ll make sure i don’t. even though it is kinda chilly for summer now that you mention it. this whole day has just been weird.”

“oh thank you!” gemini smiled brightly as he finished the detail on the ninja star. “have you seen ninja snakes before?” gemini asked curiously, looking up at vance. “i thought i was being pretty original with ninja snakes and a jedi kitten fighting them.” 

“actually no,” he chuckled, “i just like the idea of them. and you draw them very well.” vance watched the boy draw for a second before he suddenly remembered what he had come in here for. “oh, do you guys have the newest spideypool comic?”

“that’s quite the story,” donovan said with an amused laugh before wrapping an arm around vance’s shoulder and kissing his forehead. “want me to go jump in the fountain too so you don’t have to smell like a gross wet dog on your own?” he pulled back from the blonde, ruffling his hair and then squishing his cheeks. “you’re a pretty cute gross wet dog, though, so at least you’ve got that goin’ for you. i think i’m gonna name you scrappy.”

“only if i get to be the one to push you in,” vance joked, gently punching the boy square in the chest. he kept his fist against the boy as he laughed. “if you don’t stop i’m going to fucking lick you. then again you’d probably enjoy it.” he smiled and separated himself from donovan so that he could pull his shirt off. the cloth was rung out in vance’s fists and he squeezed. the majority of the water fell from it but that didn’t stop the dampness. he sighed from his lips, causing them to do that vibration thing and make the funny noise. i hope you know what i’m talking about lmao. “damn, looks like i’m gonna have to go all the way home to get changed. what a pain in the ass.”

“this seems like a very searious situation. this lady really rained on your parade. i would’ve asked her water you doing?”

vance looked up from his drenched shirt to give the boy a look that seemed to say really? but he couldn’t help but let a smile cross his features. “okay, those were pretty good,” he admitted. 

“oh, i’m sorry about that. um do you want a towel or anything? i don’t really have a towel on me but we could go get one”

“nah, i think i’ll dry pretty soon,” vance nodded. he took the ends of his tee and wrung them out, but it didn’t do much. “it was just one of those weird happenings, you know?” he chuckled. 

gemini worked on his drawing of his kitten fighting ninja snakes as he sat behind the counter of the comic store. it was a slow day which lead to him working on more of a ridiculous drawing for one of his more ridiculous comics where anakin is fighting ninja snakes and made many references to star wars. he was almost done with one of the snakes’ throwing stars when the bell over the door rung. “um, hey. i’ll be with you in a sec. i have some ninja snakes fighting a cat with a lightsaber,” he said without looking up. 

looking around the store, vance was pleased to find gemini was working right now. he walked up to the counter and rested his forearms against the top before leaning across to his drawing. “that’s fucking sick, gem,” he whispered. “i really like it. i’m a sucker for some ninja snakes man.” the boy joked whilst admiring the art style. it looked like it could have come straight out of a comic book.

vance laughed at the girl’s pick up line. “i’m probably going to use that on my boyfriend. he’ll probably punch me in the arm.”

as kori approached the table she’d been serving all night to collect the bill, she frowned when she saw the cash on the table. it didn’t match the amount on the receipt. in fact, it wasn’t even close. the girl huffed out a sigh before standing up straight and crossing her arms over her chest. then her eyes widened when she spotted the costumer exiting the restroom and making way towards the exit. without any hesitation, she walked up to them, tapping their shoulder. “excuse me? sorry to be a bother, but you didn’t pay your full bill,” kori said with a sweet smile as she showed them the slip of paper with the correct total.

vance had his hand on the door when the soft voice he’d been hearing through his dinner approached him once more. he turned and found the small brunette questioning him not paying his full bill. “oh,” he said surprised, looking at the receipt closely. “shit i must have miscounted.” the boy fished into his back pocket and counted out the six dollars he was missing. “sorry about that,” the boy smiled small whilst handing it over. “does that happen a lot? people not paying the full bill?”

Luke in Helsinki

vance leaned against one of don’s hand, his smile slightly hidden into the boy’s palm. he was elated with all of this. everything was working out and falling into place. something that had never happened before in his life. vance made a small “ah!” sound when don picked him up a few inches off the ground. he laughed into donovan’s neck, wrapping his arms around so tight. there was no way he was letting go so soon. the boy listened to don talk about the auction. that seemed so long ago. but the new information he was being given had his heart picking up and brows furrowing up in awe. “donovan,” he cooed whilst his boyfriend pressed kisses to his shoulder, “you are the best thing. okay? trust me, i was saving all i had to try and win that date with you.” vance forced don away so that they could look at one another. it was vance’s turn now to hold his face to him. he admired him for a moment in the dim light before pulling the brunette into a deep kiss.

anything that vance had felt prior melted away when he saw don’s smile. as cheesy as it sounds it’s true. there was no lingering feelings of the pain or despair. vance let out his final tears when he laughed at donovan’s joking. he wiped them away and listened to him go on joyfully about the deadpool suit. vance shook his head, saying “you can get me going more ways than just a deadpool costume.” the laughter eased away when the big question approached. boyfriend. an official relationship. one that vance has never had before. the blonde leaned into don and let a grin cross his lips. “i would kiss you right now to answer you but i’m smiling too much to,” he laughed, vance’s nose brushing against don’s. “so, yes. yes, i do.”

vance’s blue eyes widened at the boy’s words. we’ve both suffered too much. he had never thought of it in that way. all of the pain and misfortune. was there ever a stop? or maybe it was just enough now. “deserve to be happy,” he mumbled in repeat. it was strange to hear those words from his own mouth. this was something he’d never thought of before. all of this was tragically enlightening. through their own tragic happenings they’ve connected and found that it was possible for them to move on. to be happy. vance’s eyes welled with new tears, but these were different. warmth. he gripped don’s wrist that held his face gently. and he nodded. “i want you, too,” he whispered, a watery smile forming over his lips.

he cried until his head was pounding. eventually vance had nothing left to cry out so he leaned against don like a child. the grip he had on his shirt loosened, then was resting gently on his chest. it was silent except for soft sniffles and breathing. “that’s why.. i held back,” he breathed. “but i don’t want to anymore.” vance moved his head to look at don. he rubbed at his red-rimmed eyes and rested his forehead against don’s in exhaustion. “i’m just scared.”

vance's screams faded into low cries as donovan held him close. immediately he scrambled to hold don, too. half of his face was pressed into the boy's chest, one arm wrapped around him. the other had a hand gripping his shirt. he kept trying to form words but the cries flooded them out. it took some time, but eventually vance resided into a silent weep. the panic and pain had surpassed. "i'm s-sorry," he finally choked out. "i'm so sorry. i d-didn't know.. that was going to happen."