[FXAA : Gift] People || Almond Milk

(Some context before you read: soulmates develop some kind of heterochromia when they get closer to each other emotionally, the new color being that of their partner’s eye color. In this case, Milky would have Almond’s brown in his eyes while Almond would have Milky’s blue.)

  A faint, muffled sniffle escaped the pillowy cotton of the pale boy’s damp sleeves. His sobs had quieted as moments came and went, dragging the sun under the tree line as they passed. The sky sent a warm orange hue over the pair of souls paying no heed to the evidence of passing time nor the diminishing chirping of birds signaling the end of the day; those two had their attention focused among themselves.

   Almond gently traced simple, random shapes on the pale boy’s back with a finger, over and over, as he had done for the past however many minutes. He gazed aimlessly as he thought and worried over his friend. Blearily, he noticed the increasing number of lights turning on in the town below, feeling like more than he remembered there being. Ah, right. His hometown had started expanding and growing more popular as the port trade got more attention. Maybe the influx of new population brought in more shady, selfish types, and that’s why Milky seems so bothered? A stray curly strand made its way into his eye, kindly guided by the pleasant breeze, startling him out of his thoughts and prompting him to blink furiously before checking in on the foxto under his outstretched hand.

   “Hey,” Almond murmured, hesitant. “Are you… feeling better?” His thin brows drew together almost immediately as his eyes narrowed and slid to the grass beside them, silently cursing himself for not knowing what to say to help. God, Honey would definitely know what to do here.

   Another small sniffle came as the soft haired boy next to him shifted his head slightly in his arms, making his next words clearer for Almond to hear. “Um… I’ll-” he hiccuped. “I’ll be fine. I think I’m doing a little better now…” The tan boy leaned closer, anticipating perhaps clarification or reassurance. He was met with silence.

   Almond’s curled tail anxiously swept the grass and sparse pebbles on the slope as he sat back, redirecting his attention to tracing shapes on Milky’s back again. Maybe he’ll notice and cheer up a little if it’s something random like a dinosaur. He dismissed the thought as swiftly as it came - there was no way that he would be able to even decipher whatever’s being drawn on his back if Almond couldn’t draw a dinosaur for his life in the first place. Instead, he monitored his breathing briefly under his palm, letting the warmth - the reminder that he’s still alive and breathing - sooth the agitated noise in his own chest. It was shallow, but steady. An improvement.

   He said he’d be fine. Almond’s flopped ear twitched, the movement causing his hearing aid to brush against his hair and produce a rustling sound only he heard. He believed that he’d be fine. But it didn’t dispel the worry that’d been brewing in his chest since he came home from college to find Milky gone. What happened?

   “Almond,” the curled up boy spoke up suddenly, his wings shifting with the movement. Almond’s ears perked as he startled, and immediately concentrated on hearing every word his boyfriend had to say. “Do you… like people?” A pause, as Almond waited yet another beat for another sentence. Again, nothing.

   “Huh?” What a weird question. He already knew what kind of people he likes romantically, so maybe he meant something else. He pondered for a bit, twisting the cross that hung from his neck in his free hand instinctively. “Well… I like you, and I like my parents, and I like our friends…” He felt the wood against his fingers. “And the kids at the daycare that brought me and Honey candy for our birthdays, even though they’re kind of rough on most other days. And the person at the ice cream parlor that complimented my wings… And some of my classmates that were just nice to me.” A small smile crossed his face, and his soft brown eyes glanced over his favorite person, knowing that he can’t see it anyway. “It just so happens that I’m ‘people’, and so are you and the others. So yeah, I like people.” A thought crossed him. “But-but uh, maybe that’s a weird answer…” His hand left his cross as he instead ran it through the straighter parts of his hair briefly, embarrassed. A sudden warmness rose to his cheeks and ears. Man, he must think he’s stupid.

   To his disbelief, a quiet laugh escaped the lump of pale blue cloth, and the boy shakily lifted his head for the setting sun to kiss goodbye before it left. Almond withdrew his hand as Milky straightened to look him in the eye for the first time today, and the blond’s eyes widened as his mouth opened in a silent gasp. A small, tired smile graced his shy features, and the last of the sun’s rays dusted his figure to create a semblance to a halo, shining through the tears, forming the illusion of small jewels on his cheeks. And as his eyes reached Milky’s own, rimmed with red, he felt the worry that’d been plaguing him all day leave him, for in the deep blue recesses of his natural iris, flecks of oranges and browns glimmered gold in the lingering sunset as if to symbolize newfound hope for Milky.

   “Geez,” the angel-like boy wiped his eyes and cheekily snickered. “That’s such a silly answer for a college student,” he teased.

   Almond’s wings flared in embarrassment as he scoffed, smiling. “What the heck? I’m sorry, I didn’t know I was supposed to be eloquent and professional when I’m asked a weird question,” adopting a snobby voice on the emphasized words, then laughed, leaning forward to lightly punch him in the arm, to which Milky responded by grabbing his wrist and flopping backwards into the grass, pulling Almond forward to yelp and almost faceplant next to him - only driving more laughter out of both of them.

   They spent the last moments of the day on that hill, until the very last trace of orange and pink trickled from the sky and the glittering sparks were starting to come out. A hint of a chill began to descend over the pair, and the wind was picking up, ruffling their hair and Milky’s feathers in tandem with the rolling waves of grass laid out underneath them. They were allowed a minute or two to sit back and stargaze in weightless silence, just with each other’s company and touch, before the night ushered them to go home.

   Almond sighed and heaved himself onto his feet, almost losing his balance before he swung his curled, lightly glowing tail around. The dirt crunched under his shoes as he turned back to hold his hand out, rosary clinking against its surrounding beads faintly. “Well,” he exhaled through his nose, smiling gently, “ready to go home?”

   Milky smiled and took it, Almond pulling him up to stand by him, not letting go of his hand. “Yeah. I’m kind of hungry,” he chuckled, his turn to be shy. He tried to gather his wings around him as a makeshift coat with a free hand until the taller boy gently guided a wing for him. Milky looked up at his warm, glowing eyes, closing them when he stepped in to nestle in Almond’s neck for a moment, Almond’s cheek being tickled by the fluffy hair it’s pressed against tenderly.

   The wind rushed by them as if a stern reminder, causing them both to shiver against the other. Almond murmured, “Ok. Let’s head on home and hope my mom left dinner for us,” and pulled away, delicately squeezing his boyfriend’s hand.

   Milky let out a soft chuckle as they descended the hill and made their way through the peaceful, familiar streets. “I hope it’s dinosaur nuggies.” Almond grinned at the reminder of an earlier thought, and hugged Milky’s arm close to him, sneaking a glance at the part of him in his blue eyes.

   Maybe they’ll have their moments. But knowing that they’ve got the best partner in the world to help them survive the dark days, to lift each other up and feel truly happy gives him hope that they’ll be fine.