The city lights shimmered on the wet pavement as Eli and Riven stepped out of the cinema. A light drizzle had begun to fall, painting the world in soft reflections and blurred halos of light. People hurried past them, but neither boy moved fast. They walked slowly, like they had all the time in the world.
Eli tucked his hands into the sleeves of his jacket. His fingers were cold, but his heart was warm. Warm and confused.
"Did you like the movie?" Riven asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
Eli nodded. "It was… beautiful. Sad. Honest."
"Yeah," Riven said. "It felt like someone wrote it for us."
That caught Eli off guard. He looked up at Riven, who was watching the sidewalk, eyes serious. His slicked-back hair was slightly damp from the misty rain, making him look even more intense than usual.
"For us?" Eli echoed.
Riven didn't answer at first. Instead, he turned to look at Eli—really look at him—and then said softly, "Two people. Wrong time. Right feeling."
Eli's throat tightened. "You think that's us?"
"I don't know what to think anymore," Riven admitted. "But when I'm with you… everything else feels quieter."
They reached a small bridge that overlooked a narrow river cutting through the city. The water moved slowly, like it was trying to mirror the sky. Riven stopped walking and leaned over the railing. Eli followed.
For a moment, they just stood there. Listening. Breathing. The only sound was the rain tapping gently against metal.
"I used to think I had everything figured out," Riven began, his voice low. "Medicine. Career. Plans. I mapped everything out because I was scared of chaos. I didn't want to leave room for anything I couldn't control."
Eli listened without interrupting.
"And then you happened," Riven continued. "Quietly. Suddenly. I wasn't prepared for you."
Eli looked at him. "Why does that sound like a bad thing?"
"It's not," Riven said, meeting his eyes. "It's just… new. And terrifying."
Eli's heart raced. "I don't want to make things harder for you."
"You don't," Riven said immediately. "You make me feel things I forgot I could feel."
That confession hit Eli like thunder in a storm. Soft but impossible to ignore.
"Sometimes," Eli said quietly, "I wonder if we're just… passing through each other's lives. Like stars. Beautiful, but fleeting."
Riven turned his body toward Eli. "I don't want to pass you by."
Eli's breath caught.
"I don't know what this is yet," Riven said. "But I want to find out. If you do too."
"I do," Eli whispered. "I'm scared, but I do."
The silence that followed was the kind that speaks more than words ever could.
Then, slowly, cautiously, Riven lifted his hand and tucked a strand of wet hair behind Eli's ear. His fingers lingered at Eli's cheek, trembling slightly, betraying the steadiness of his usual confidence.
Eli didn't pull away.
Neither of them leaned in for a kiss. Not yet. The moment didn't ask for it. It asked for stillness. Presence.
It asked them to just be.
And they were.
---
Later, they found themselves in a quiet café, the kind that stays open late for no reason other than to catch the souls who don't want to go home yet. They sat across from each other in a dim corner booth, steaming cups of coffee between them.
Eli stirred his cup slowly. "Do your friends know about you?"
Riven looked at him. "You mean… about us?"
"About you," Eli clarified. "That you like—guys."
Riven was quiet. Then he said, "No. Not really. I mean, a few might guess. But I've never said it."
Eli nodded, looking down.
"And you?" Riven asked.
"My sister knows," Eli said. "She's always known. But I never talked about it with my parents. I think… they're still pretending it's just a phase."
"That must be hard."
Eli smiled faintly. "You get used to being invisible."
"You're not invisible to me," Riven said.
That made Eli look up.
And in that look—full of hope, fear, longing—Riven saw something fragile and rare. Something worth holding onto.
He reached across the table and took Eli's hand.
Eli didn't flinch. He let Riven hold it. Let him see the tremble in his fingers. Let himself be seen.
For the first time in a long time, he didn't feel like something to hide.
---
When they left the café, the rain had stopped. The city felt different somehow. Softer. More forgiving.
As they walked, neither of them said a word. There was no need. The silence between them was no longer empty—it was full of something unspoken but understood.
And when they reached Eli's dorm gate, as they always did, something changed.
This time, Riven didn't walk away.
He stood still. Looking at Eli like he was memorizing him.
Then, gently, Riven cupped Eli's face in his hands and leaned in—not asking this time, but still giving Eli room to say no.
Eli didn't.
Their lips met in a kiss that tasted of rain and warmth and something real. Something growing.
It wasn't rushed. It wasn't hungry.
It was honest.
And when they finally pulled apart, neither of them said goodbye.
They didn't need to.
Because somehow, in that one kiss, they had both said—
"I'm here."
---