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They’re back home. The sky is blue, until it isn’t. They watch it turn orange as the sun sets, but it doesn’t fade. The colour stays soft and calm in the sky, the warmth from the sun doesn’t disappear as it goes over the horizon. Link is laying on a blanket Rhett must have stolen from his parents house. He hopes they don’t get grass stains on it. There’s a solid weight on his thigh and Link knows it’s Rhett before he looks down - he’s laying across the blanket, although he’s so tall his legs are resting on the grass. He hopes they don’t get grass stains on his jeans. Rhett has his eyes closed, but he’s smiling. The warm glow of the sunset shines across his face, illuminating his profile. Link always loved how he looked from the side. His hair looks like gold in this light. Link’s fingers are running through it before he remembers lifting his hand. Rhett’s smile broadens, melting into his touch. Link strokes his hair for what feels like an eternity. At some point, Rhett turned his head towards him and opened his eyes. Now he’s gazing at Link like there’s nothing better to look at.
“I wish I could stay here forever.”
Link isn’t sure if he said it aloud or just thought it, but Rhett smiles at him like he heard it either way. Rhett reaches up and catches Link’s hand in his hair, intertwining their fingers. He smiles at Link and Link can feel himself smiling back. Rhett pulls his hand down to his face and presses a soft kiss to the back of it.
“I’ll always be here for you, bo.”
The dream doesn’t end, but he’s awake. He can still feel the warmth of the invisible sun, the slow breeze in his hair, and the scent of what Link can only think to describe as ‘home’. He opens his eyes and nothing changes, but he isn’t in the middle of a perfect green pasture watching an infinite sunset with his best friend. He’s pressed against Rhett’s side, with his head on his shoulder. He can feel his breath over his head, constant like the wind. Link’s face is turned towards Rhett’s neck, breathing him in. It’s not just one single thing. Rhett smells like winter, when you step in from the cold, and the warmth hits you so fast it almost stings. He smells like fresh air and rushing water, like a bonfire and the stars on a clear night. He smells like an empty field at sunset, on a soft blanket and dry grass. Like young love and long nights, desperate wishes and quiet promises for it to never end.
The sky is orange, but the sun isn’t setting; it’s rising. He tucks his face closer, hides against Rhett’s side. He can feel him stir, because the rest of him starts to move too. First he turns on his side more, arms sliding around Link and pulling him in, closing the space that doesn’t exist between them like a practiced routine. His head tilts down and his nose presses into Link’s hair.
Link can tell the moment he wakes up because he feels him smile. He raises his head and Rhett looks down to meet him. Link feels himself smile and as Rhett nudges their foreheads together, they look at each other. He knows Rhett’s going to kiss him before he does it, but it still makes his heart jump. It’s soft and sweet, worth double its weight in gold.
They stay close when they pull apart. Link lifts his hand and brushes his fingers through Rhett’s hair, feeling nothing but its soft weight pass through his fingers. Rhett closes his eyes and tucks his head closer, face turned towards Link’s neck.
“I could stay here forever.”
His voice is low and warm, echoing from just below Link’s ear. It almost tickles, but Link makes no attempt to move. He keeps his hand moving steadily on Rhett’s head, and smiles.
“I’ll be here.”