He was 12 when he really noticed Link. He knew what his best friend looked like, he just didn't spend too much time staring at him. That was weird. They were outside in a line with their classmates, lined up to go into the auditorium to witness the yearly talented show. His best friend had a crowd of kids around him, Rhett only knew Link was the one hidden by the high pitched squeal of his giggles that filled the warm night air that rung over the hum of conversation going on around them and the buzz of crickets.
He was tall enough to peer over shoulders and met Link's wide shining eyes, his arms flailing, hands moving as he told some story for the hundreth time that night. "Line is moving, son" Rhett's dad rested his hand on his son's broad shoulder as his eyes stayed locked on his friend who seemed to glow under all the attention. It was brief, the twitch at the corner of Link's lips as the crowd dispersed and left the smaller boy at his mom's side.
He was his friend again. He was his Link, staying at his side, hiding into the cool of Rhett's lanky shadow so they could sit together.
He was 17 when he walked out of the bathroom at a summer graduation party, scanning the tops of friends heads for the familliar dark brown hair. He heard that giggle that coursed through his veins, that he had memorized even as it started to mellow and deepen with years. Rhett followed it through the crowd. He ghosted the doorway to not interrupt Link's audience. They were wide eyed and enraptured as he talked with his hands and different voices, beaming under their praise and laughter.
"Rhett!" Link waved trying his attention "hey brother!" It took him a minute to pull himself back to the moment, to the room, where the crowd had parted like the Red Sea for him to take his rightful spot next to his best friend.
Link had changed the summer he went away. His jaw was sharper, the shadows under his eyes darker. He was weighed down with the promise of the future they were supposed to have all planned out. He noticed the fuzz along his jaw and the way the light slowly dimmed from his eyes. He wasn't HIS Link anymore, the high pitched giggles or wide eyes that always ran behind him for safety when Link was intimidated or scared. He just sometimes reached out to link his pinkie with Rhett's to remind his friend he was really still there.
He makes a living reacting to Link. They live in each other's pockets miles away from home. Link falls easily into his character, silly and absentminded to his gruff and serious. Link starts to become a blur of colors, too loud laughter and jokes that make Rhett roll his eyes. Sometimes his pinkie will lock with Rhett's under the desk as they film. Never more than a few seconds, its as grounding as a slight slip of accent or mischievous twinkle in his eye. His Link is still there, waiting for the camera to go off and everyone to go home.
He remembers in high school how they passed a joint back and forth to work up the courage to perform with the band as they wait in the darkness onstage. The air around them is thick with chatter and excitement, they had discussed doing this for years. First they traveled reciting their edited life stories for laughs and applause, then they slowly worked in songs from their past, eyes meeting as they sang Merle from slightly rusty memory. Some things you never forget.
This is them, now. He doesn't get a lot of time to really take in and appreciate the man who has been by his side since childhood. Link's laughter is still loud and sincere, his smile still crinkles the corners of his eyes in reaction to a roar of applause from the crowds that keep getting bigger and bigger. There's no joint now, pre-show. It's a quick squeeze of sweaty palms, a nervous laugh and the lights are up.
But opening night, he watches. The proud square of Link's shoulders as he steps forward to welcome the people who pay to see them banter like an old married couple. That twitch at the corner of his lips as he turns to get Rhett's attention. And for a brief moment, those wide glittering eyes that had made a home in his heart all those years ago.
