The Rebirth

**
Three months later…
It was a white fairytale wonderland in the park. Crystals dripped from the trees. Effervescent snow sparkles spun in the wind. It was magical.
Elena walked by Oakley, decked in puffy black snow gear, toddling around like a burned marshmallow ball. She stopped in front of him. She waited for a while. She nudged the tree’s branches. She whispered “Oakley!” hesitantly, earning a look of confusion from the people around her. She really did wait for a very long time.
But eventually it was time to go.
And she couldn’t really wait for Oakley forever, now, could she?

**
Nico and Daniel nodded politely, awkwardly, before heading in opposite directions.
It was weird. They both didn’t really know what had happened, yesterday, but something was off. Something wasn’t like it was before.
Everyone noticed it too. There were whispers. Hazel made speculations about the relationship to herself. Suddenly, Nico was thrust into some extra attention. And he didn't like it.
After some hesitation, Nico gritted his teeth, turned himself around, and grabbed Daniel by the shoulder.
The light brown in his eyes got deeper. “Oh. Hey.”
Something growled in Nico’s chest. It hurt to look at Daniel, actually. His freckles- there were exactly 19 of them. Nico’d counted- seemed to shine brighter just for him. The hair was just as feathery as normal, although it was starting to get a little shaggy and long.
There was a pause. Not one of their nice, usual, understanding pauses. It was awkward, to say the least. Uncomfortable. Testy.
Nico realized that they had an audience. About seven of Daniel’s friends waved hesitantly at him.
He gritted out a smile and waved back before dragging Daniel away.
“I don’t understand.”
Nico waited for Daniel to say something. The sun brushed across his hair, his face. He opened his mouth.
“So you’re gay," Nico interrupted. "Who cares? Nothing should change. Nothing should be awkward. Unless you like me. Do you… do you…?” Nico hadn’t meant to slip the hope into his voice. He cursed himself. Way to make things even more awkward.
Daniel still stared, wide-eyed, at him. He didn’t do anything.
“Okay,” Nico let his heart drop a little bit. “Okay. So, you don’t. So, let’s still be friends. Don’t do this… This-“ he waved his hands at Daniel. “Thing that you’re doing, because it’s… weird. And I don’t like it.”
Nico felt a strong surge of pride in himself. So… So what, if Daniel didn’t like him? He had talked. He had talked to make things right. Which meant that he could talk some more, if he had to. He could still keep a good friend.
“Do you like me?” Daniel shifted, looking at Nico dead in the eye. His eyes really were a warm, deep, rich brown color. “That, I think… is the question.”
Nico’s heart plummeted even more. He suddenly reeeeally wanted to go back on his vow to talk more if he had to. What is he supposed to say? Yes, I do, and you don’t like me back? Suddenly he realized why it was so awkward between him and Daniel. Daniel obviously didn’t want Nico to get his hopes up, so he’s been distancing himself. And now they’re confronting the problem.
Uncontrollable panic and déjà vu overwhelmed Nico. The situation suddenly reminded him of a time years ago… When he had to face Cupid… Beating after beating of emotional stress… And he had to reveal- for the first time, aloud- that he was gay…
“I-“ Nico’s voice strangled in his throat. “I-“
He began to hyperventilate.
“Whoa,” Daniel let out, rushing to Nico’s side. “Oh, my god, Nico, you don’t have to answer the question!”
Nico sunk to his knees, forcing himself to calm down. Or trying to, anyways. His stomach heaved in and out.
“Nico!” Daniel placed his hands at the sides of Nico’s face and tilted them up. “Look at me!”
He resisted for a while. His eyes stayed down. He didn’t want to. He didn’t want to. And his throat and lungs continued to constrict. Breaths couldn’t come in. The panic was insane.
But finally, as his chin was pushed up by Daniel’s hands, his eyes shot back and forth before they finally found a face.
It was a soft, angled face of 19 freckles and heated brown stares. The jaw was gritted and set. Dirty brown-blonde feather hair fell over one eye.
When Nico finally stilled, the hands loosened around his face.
But they stayed there.
Before Nico even knew what was happening, their foreheads touched, and Daniel smiled a sad sort of smile. “Can you, uh, please not do that ever again?”
Daniel jabbed Nico playfully in the nose with his own. His thumb grazed the side of his cheek.
And they stayed like that, in silence, simply understanding each other.
It was a long time before one of them stirred.
It was around then that Nico realized it was a pretty awkward situation, two boys wrapped together, drowning in the other one’s eyes.
He solved this problem by leaning forward and closing the gap between their lips.
Daniel sighed in relief, laughing, and suddenly Nico was laughing, and they had to break the kiss for a while, because for some reason, they couldn’t stop. The whole thing was just so freaking funny.
“My god,” Daniel said. “My god.”
Nico understood.
And when they got themselves together long enough to kiss again, Nico couldn’t help but notice that Daniel tasted like sunshine.

Notes

yay for gay