Regulus was a lucky fucking man. He had decided to celebrate his engagement at James’s beach house, which was, indeed, not a house so much as a mansion on the coast of Brazil. Regulus, of course, invited everyone, which happened to include Evan.
And Barty.
Always Barty.
Regulus, the bastard, knew all about the crush that Evan had harbored for Barty and decided that the best way to assist him in his romantic ventures was… To lock them both in the mansion’s carriage house together. For three weeks. Three weeks of hopeless pining and nothing coming of it. Evan hoped that his misery would be entertaining for Regulus at the very least.
Evan had been unnaturally quiet during the flight to Brazil. Normally, he would’ve been grinning, and probably flirting with James, even though they were going for James and Regulus’s engagement. Instead, he was silent, dreading the weeks to come. And shifting uncomfortably in his seat, trying to ignore his proximity to Barty.
He remained silent after they got off the plane, and during the very cramped taxi ride to James’s beach mansion. As soon as he could, he grabbed his suitcase and ran off to the carriage house to enjoy the slightest bit of privacy before three weeks with Barty. Alone in the carriage house together.
🏵✧𐩑✧🏵`
The first day at the beach house, which everyone had started calling ‘Paraíso’ (James taught Regulus in front of the girls and it stuck), was spent almost entirely inside, enjoying the amenities that James had provided. Evan chose to linger at the mini bar, watching Barty and the girls enjoy the indoor pool. He had wanted to hang around James and Regulus, but they had disappeared to their room, and Evan did not have the heart to disturb them.
Pandora paddled over to the side of the pool, hanging onto the side. Their white-blonde hair clung to their skin. “Come on, Evy,” they said, smiling up at him. “Join us in the pool?”
Evan shook his head. “I’m not even wearing a swimsuit, Dora. Maybe later.”
They pouted up at him as Barty popped up out of the water, grinning at him. He rested his head in his palm, staring up at him with bright eyes. His dark hair that was always such a mess fell damp against his pale skin. And he was gorgeous.
“Please, Rosie?” Barty said, feigning sweetness. The warm light of the pool room and the sunlight streaming in from the window walls glinted off his silver nose ring, and off of his skin, shining from the water. Evan bit back a fond smile.
“Maybe later. I’m going to get a drink,” Evan replied, standing up and stepping away from the bar.
“I’ll come with you,” Barty said, pulling himself up and out of the pool. “I could use a drink.” Evan could see his top surgery scars as he stood up, dripping wet.
“No,” Evan said rushed. He took a deep breath. “No. I’m fine. I’ll be right back. You can stay here.”
Barty shrugged and jumped back into the pool. Evan didn’t return to the pool room.
🏵✧𐩑✧🏵
On the second day, Regulus finally emerged from his room, demanding that everyone go shopping with him. The girls politely declined, saying that they had planned a ‘girl’s day’, exploring the town. Evan silently pleaded for them to bring him along, if only so that he wouldn’t have to be with Barty all day. His hopes were met with a knowing smile from Pandora, who hugged him before walking away.
The town around Paraíso was beautiful. Evan probably would’ve enjoyed it more if Barty wasn’t such a damn distraction. He had apparently dyed his hair the previous night, bright green streaks shining in his hair. He wore a black crop top and black velvet choker. Nothing particularly different, but gorgeous nonetheless. Always gorgeous.
“How do I look?” Regulus asked, stepping out of the dressing room of one of the stores. He was wearing a maroon mini skirt with the price tag poking out.
“Absolutely gorgeous, love,” James said, gazing at Regulus with hearts in his eyes. He always looked at Regulus like that. Evan wondered if that’s how he looks when he’s with Barty.
Regulus turned to where Barty and Evan stood, leaning against the wall. “Guys? What do you think?”
“You look great, Reg,” Barty said, smirking. His arms were crossed over his chest where Evan could clearly see the rows of beaded bracelets up his arms.
“Yeah,” Evan mumbled.
Regulus grinned, glancing at Evan humorously. “Thanks. Jamie, can I get it?”
James opened his arms, allowing Regulus to step into them. James wrapped his arms around his fiancee. “Anything for you, love.”
“Jamie,” Barty said, batting his eyelashes. “If I find something I like, will you buy it for me?”
James glared while Regulus grinned, burying his face in James’s neck. “Pay for yourself, Crouch.” Evan knew that Barty was just teasing and James was completely uninterested, but it still made his heart feel a little lighter seeing James not indulge him.
“Come on, baby,” Regulus grinned. “Humor him.”
James rolled his eyes, still smiling in the way he only smiled for Regulus. “Fine. If you find something, I’ll buy it for you.”
Barty grinned. “Thanks, Jamie.” He walked off, searching through racks. When he returned, after seven minutes or so of watching Regulus and James be sickeningly sweet, Barty had a pile of clothes thrown over his arm, grinning wildly.
James muttered bitterly under his breath, shaking his head as he looked at the large pile that Barty had acquired. Regulus smiled sweetly and kissed away James’s frown. Evan watched as Barty sauntered off into the dressing room, and he could swear that he glanced almost sweetly at Evan.
A few minutes of shuffling, and Barty emerged with his first outfit, a cropped black halter top and black latex tights that shined as he moved, as though he were walking down his own personal runway, the eyes of the world upon him. His eyes flit around to Regulus, who gave him an approving grin, then to James, who sighed and rolled his eyes, knowing that he would absolutely be buying the ensemble, and finally to Evan, who could only stare, awestruck, at the man in front of him. He grinned and shook his hair back out of his face.
“Thoughts?” Barty asked, running a hand through his hair, dark locks falling back into his face, a streak of green falling just in front of his left eye.
“You look good,” Regulus said, nodding approvingly from where he sat atop James’s lap, his arms wrapped around his fiancee’s neck.
“What do you think, Jamie?” Barty asked sweetly, batting his eyelashes once again.
James rolled his eyes in return. “I suppose I’m buying it?” Barty just grinned.
“Evan? Opinions?” Barty asked finally, pulling Evan’s attention from Barty’s exposed midriff to his beautiful, beautiful face. His eyes were more… sincere now, genuinely searching for Evan’s approval. Evan wasn’t really sure what to do with that.
“You look great, B,” Evan said, smiling supportively. He tilted his head, appreciating the beauty in front of him as Barty grinned once more before turning and stepping back into the dressing room.
That was how it continued, outfit after outfit, each more beautiful on him then the last, though Evan supposed anything would be beautiful on Barty. It was more him than the outfit. He wore lace, and sheer, crop tops and corsets. Everything was stunning. Barty ended up buying more clothes than Regulus did, and Evan couldn’t complain. He had at least enjoyed the show.
🏵✧𐩑✧🏵
The beach was quiet at night. Evan enjoyed the peace, with the cold rush of the waves running over his feet, and the soft, cool feeling of the sand beneath him as he walked across the night-blue tinted shore.
The night was gentle to Evan, making him feel at peace, less alone in the quiet sound of constantly moving water. The moon was full above him, pure white light raining down on him. If Regulus were with him, he’d probably be rattling off stories about stars, or whispering philosophy. If Pandora were there, they’d probably comment about how the stars were shaped oddly tonight. Something about how Mercury was in retrograde, he supposed. Dorcas would be lecturing him about communicating with Barty. But if Barty were there… they could just sit in silence, if Barty wanted. Or they could talk. It was nice when they talked. Barty would make him smile, and laugh, and he would feel his heart flutter and light up in his chest.
Evan sighed, breathing in the salty sea air. He didn’t have to worry when he was out here, surrounded by nothing but sand, and water, and dim blue night. He closed his eyes and just breathed.
“Evan?” He heard a voice say from behind him. Evan opened his eyes and turned to see Barty standing in the sand. He wore his standard beachwear: loose, baggy black shorts and a white button-up that Barty left open across his chest, the colors barely visible in the small amount of light. He looked lovely. “Um, what’re you doing out here? It’s like three in the morning.”
Evan grinned. “I could ask you the same thing.”
Barty shrugged and stepped close to Evan. “I couldn’t sleep. I was going to see if you wanted to watch a movie, but you weren’t in your room.” Barty glanced over and smiled. Evan almost thought he looked fond, maybe even loving. “I ended up finding you anyway.”
Evan smiled softly. “Yeah. You did.” Evan sighed and started walking, light on his feet. “Come on, walk with me.”
Barty jumped forward to catch up to Evan. “Yeah, sure. What’re you up to?”
Evan looked up at the murky blue night with its bright silvery-white stars. “Just walking. It’s a beautiful night. You can see the stars.”
Barty stuffed his hands into the pockets of his shorts. “I don’t care much for stars. They’re nice, I suppose, but there are prettier things in this world, aren’t they?”
Evan tilted his head ever so slightly. “Like what?”
Barty looked over at him with dark, lovely eyes, and a small, soft, pretty smile. “I like things I can see during the day. Things like flowers. I’m particularly fond of roses.”
Evan hoped that Barty couldn’t see his cheeks flush. Barty turned away again and continued walking as though he hadn’t set Evan’s heart aflutter, burning through his chest. If Evan had been more confident, perhaps he would’ve reached over and kissed Barty, then and there. He didn’t. He just kept walking.
They didn’t talk much as they walked across the beach. That was okay though. Evan was fine to take in Barty’s beauty in the soft glow of the moon. He was fine to memorize every detail of his face, from the slant of his nose, to the slight upward curve at the ends of his lips, to the soft ways he glanced over at Evan with fondness. He was fine to slip his hand into Barty’s and smile when he squoze in return.
“Ev,” Barty said, tugging Evan’s arm to get him to stop walking. “Can we stop for a minute?”
“Sure,” Evan said, walking back to be next to Barty. “Something wrong?”
Barty shook his head. “Nah. I just want to… take in the moment, I suppose. It really is nice out.”
Evan smiled softly. “Yeah, okay. Do you… want to sit down?” Barty just nodded, sitting down in the sand, gently tugging Evan down next to him. Barty’s hand was warm, drawing circles on the back of Evan’s hand with his thumb. Evan drew in the sand with the other hand.
“Y’know, I don’t think I know what you see in these stars,” Barty said. He was glancing over at Evan, smiling. “They’re just little dots of light to me. I think that there’s prettier things on earth.”
“Really?” Evan asked, grinning. “Are you going to say flowers again?”
“No,” Barty said, staring off into the ocean. “I was going to say you.” And Evan felt everything. His senses felt projected, from the feeling of cold sea water rushing over his feet, to the sound of crashing waves, to the way his soul lit up and his face flushed.
“Ha ha, B,” Evan said, rolling his eyes. Barty looked at him, smirking.
“I wasn’t joking.”
Evan felt his eyes widen, locking in on Barty, who leaned in, just a little, and cupped Evan’s cheek.
“You’re the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen, Evs,” Barty said, tilting his head, just a little. “In the sky or on earth. Pretty little rose.”
“I want to kiss you,” Evan blurted out.
Barty grinned. “What’s stopping you?”
Nothing was. Evan leaned in and kissed Barty, and it tasted like peace. Like the volume of the world turned down, just for them, to let them have a moment together. Evan felt Barty’s hand drift from his cheek to his hair, keeping him close. After a minute, they drifted away, just a little bit, still close enough for Evan to feel Barty’s warm breath on his face.
The navy blue night had started slowly melding into the soft orange of morning. How long had they been out there, under the stars, for the sun to begin glowing on the horizon? Did it matter?
And then Evan collapsed back into his body, back into his mind. This was Barty, one of his closest friends, the man he loved. Now the man that he kissed. So what were they now? Did Barty want to be his friend? His lover? Maybe nothing at all. Evan couldn’t stand the thought of losing him. He couldn’t stand the idea of their relationship changing. Maybe… maybe the change would be good. But he didn’t know. He couldn’t know.
“Evs,” Barty said, placing a hand on Evan’s shoulder. “Evan, are you okay?”
He couldn’t control his breathing. It was too erratic. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want things to change. He didn’t want to ruin their friendship. He didn’t want to ruin what they already had. He was so, so scared.
“I- I’m sorry,” Evan whispered, quickly standing up and tugging his hand out of Barty’s grip as he walked away. He could hear Barty calling after him. He just kept walking away.
🏵✧𐩑✧🏵
“Regulus!” Evan shouted, rapping his knuckles on his best friend’s bedroom door. “Regulus, wake up!”
There was a distant groaning sound, and then the door opened and Regulus was there in the doorway, a thick red blanket thrown over his shoulders. “Evan?” Regulus blinked groggily. “What the fuck are you doing here at five in the goddamn morning?”
“I kissed Barty,” Evan blurted out. Regulus just raised an eyebrow.
“Did he kiss you back?” He asked, leaning on the doorframe. Evan nodded, chewing anxiously on his bottom lip. “So why exactly are you here bothering me instead of talking to him?”
“I just- I don’t know what we are anymore,” Evan said, panicked. Regulus just sighed.
“Then talk to him about it,” Regulus said, rolling his eyes. “Instead of waking me up at five in the morning for your blatant dumbassery.”
“Oh,” Evan said simply. Why hadn’t he thought of that? “Yeah, okay. Bye, Regulus.”
Regulus rolled his eyes again, smiling slightly. “Yeah, yeah. I’m happy for you. But don’t ever talk to me this early again unless you, or someone I love is actively dying.”
Evan grinned. “Thanks, Reg. See you!”
Evan swore he could hear Regulus’s eyes roll once more before he heard the door slam shut behind him as he raced out of the house.
🏵✧𐩑✧🏵
When Evan got back to the carriage house, Barty was on the long green sofa. Evan could hear him drumming on his legs nervously. He always did that when he was anxious. He quickly turned when he heard the door to the house close behind Evan.
“Hey-” Barty said, but he didn’t get another chance to speak, Evan quickly striding over, taking Barty’s face in his hands, and kissing him sweetly.
“I like you,” Evan said as he pulled away, still cradling Barty’s face in his hands. “I really, really like you.”
“Yeah,” Barty said breathlessly, a beautiful, shining grin across his face. “I really, really like you too.”
And they were kissing again, Barty’s hands thrown around Evan’s neck and Evan’s hands in Barty’s hair, feeling soft strands between his fingers. He let Barty pull him down onto the couch, collapsing together in a pile of tangled legs and breathless laughs.
“Lets try this whole ‘dating’ thing,” Barty said, smiling at Evan so softly. Evan grinned back and nuzzled into the crevice of his neck.
“Yeah, okay,” He said, unable to bite back the warm smile creeping up his face. “Dating.”
🏵✧𐩑✧🏵
Evan had only a few hours to revel in having a boyfriend, and god, wasn’t that a beautiful word, before Regulus was at their door, telling them to ‘pay for waking him up’, which approximately translated to ‘get your asses up so that we can get breakfast together.’
Evan sighed as he pulled himself from their little corner of paradise filled with movies, and soft blankets, and each other, and changed into some less ‘I was out all night on the beach’-y clothes. Cargo shorts and a light blue button up, the one that had the trans flag on the breast pocket. It was his favorite shirt, the first one Pandora got him after he came out. Barty seemed to like it too, wrapping his arms loosely around Evan’s waist and nuzzling into the side of his neck.
“Do we have to go out?” Barty asked sweetly, his breath brushing against Evan’s neck. Evan chuckled, gently removing Barty’s hands.
“Yes,” he said, smiling lovingly. “It’s Reggie’s engagement, and I woke him up today. Really, really early. I think he’s actually pissed at me.”
Barty pouted, but Evan could tell that he was biting back a smile. “Come on, B,” Evan said, gently grabbing his hand. “Let’s go.”
“Fine,” Evan heard Barty say behind him. He could almost hear Barty smile.
🏵✧𐩑✧🏵
There was a large table in the dining room at Paraíso. Evan was sure that there were more chairs tucked away in the mansion, but currently, there were eleven chairs, one for each person staying in the house.
Evan took a seat next to Regulus, whose face was buried in James’s shoulder. Barty took the seat next to Evan, grasping his hand underneath the table. Sirius was chatting animatedly with a still-tired Regulus while Remus poured himself a cup of coffee. Most of the table was still half asleep, the exceptions being Barty, Evan, Sirius, and James, who seemed to be a constant source of energy.
“Good morning, Panda,” Barty chirped. Pandora looked up from the table, staring deeply at the two boys with a furrowed brow.
“You both look different,” they said, laying their head down on the table. “In a good way, I think. But still different.”
“In… In what way?” Evan asked cautiously, glancing over to Barty, who glanced back. Pandora smiled a little bit knowingly.
“Just a way,” they replied vaguely. Evan just shrugged.
“... I don’t see it,” Dorcas said from where she sat next to Pandora, leaning over with her arm around their shoulder. “Looks the same to me.”
“Can everyone please be quiet?” Regulus groaned from where he was face-down against James’s shoulder. “It’s too early for this.”
“Agreed,” Remus muttered, prompting Sirius to throw his arms around his husband’s neck.
Lily raised an eyebrow. “You asked us to be here, Reggie.”
“James’s idea,” Regulus mumbled, resulting in a small, quiet laugh from Mary, who was leaning on Lily’s shoulder.
“I figured we could all have brunch together,” James said, smiling cheerily.
“At eight in the morning?” Dorcas asked, raising an eyebrow as she stroked her girlfriend’s hair. Marlene let out a soft noise from against the tablecloth, where her head lay, face-down. “What possibly could have possessed you to do that? This is early, even for you, James”
James grinned. “I just wanted us to hang out and have brunch together. And it’s not that early.” He was met with grumbles from around the table and he smiled a little sheepishly.
The majority of them sleepily nibbled at their food, slowly picking up into conversation and energy as they ate and sipped their coffee. The conversation grew louder, more friendly and cheerful, and laughter quickly filled the room. Every time Barty or Evan laughed, the other would glance at them. Evan could see how happy Barty was to be with him. Evan was glad to be with him too. They held hands underneath the table.
🏵✧𐩑✧🏵
The club was dark, but their little corner of it felt beautiful. The music was low, Barty and Evan swaying together, their hands on each other’s hips. There was alcohol in Evan’s blood and on his tongue, two, maybe three shots in his stomach. He knew there was the same amount in Barty’s, making him a little more flirty, a little more feral. He kept giving Evan that lovely, shining grin with the sharp canines, and the light glinting off his silver nose ring.
Evan supposed that’s how he ended up kissing Barty in the middle of the dance floor, Barty’s leg hiked up around his waist. The kiss was sweet and sharp, soft and biting. It tasted like Barty, in his purest form, and that’s what Evan loved about it.
Barty pulled away, gasping for air, before leaning back in, pressing their foreheads together with a grin. His cheeks were flushed, though it was barely visible in the low light.
“Gross,” Evan heard Regulus mutter. Barty stuck out his hand and flipped him off. Evan let out a small, breathless laugh.
“They’re not any worse than us, love,” James said, his arm around Regulus’s waist. Regulus was frowning, but Evan could see the smile he was hiding as he crossed his arms across his chest and leaned into James.
“Still gross,” Regulus said, rolling his eyes, which elicited a small ‘fuck off’ from Barty. “Can we go home, baby?”
“Sure. Let’s just give them another minute,” James said, smiling. “You two can meet us outside.”
Regulus took James’s hand and dragged him outside. Barty and Evan turned back to each other and laughed before sharing one more kiss.
🏵✧𐩑✧🏵
“Reggie told me that you’re dating Barty,” Pandora said, rocking side to side on Evan’s bed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Evan stood still, a little surprised by the uninvited guest in his bedroom. He didn’t have a problem with Pandora visiting, of course, but he couldn’t help being a little surprised.
And then he felt guilty.
“I’m happy for you, of course,” they continued, fiddling with the blue butterfly ring on their finger. Evan got it for them on their last birthday. “But I’m your sister, Evan. You know you can always talk to me. You can tell me anything, you know that, Evs.”
“Oh, Dora,” Evan said, rushing over to the bed to sit down next to them. He wrapped his arms around his sister and pulled them close to him. “I know I can tell you anything, I promise. I didn’t mean to hide anything from you.”
Pandora grumbled, but closed their eyes, leaning into Evan. “How long?”
“It’s a recent development,” Evan said. “I think I love him though.”
Pandora smiled. “I know you do. I’m happy for you.”
Evan squeezed them tighter, brushing fingers through the pale blonde hair that matched his own. “Thanks, Dora. I love you.”
Pandora hummed softly, smiling sweetly. They leaned their head on Evan’s shoulder. “I love you too, Ev.”
🏵✧𐩑✧🏵
The weeks passed by so quickly, days and nights blurring together in a mash of joy and emotions and affection in a way that Evan had never experienced. Days were spent with his friends and with Barty, dates and beach days, shopping and restaurant tours. Nights were cheerful, filled with favorite movies, and James’s cocktails, and soft kisses before bed. Some days at night Barty would lure him gently from his bed and out onto the beach to feel the sand beneath their feet and the water rushing over them under the soft moonlight.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and their slice of paradise had to fade eventually. Everyone in Paraíso was prepared to make it last and enjoy their last moments. The planning had been hard, between a wine tasting tour, vetoed by Pandora, and going back into the town that they had already spent so much time in, they decided to make use of the beach for a final bonfire beach party.
Barty and Evan crawled out of the carriage house just before sunset to see the beach already being set up with chairs and towels and sun umbrellas. There was a blazing bonfire on the sand, the smell of smoke drifting up into the air, mixing with the salty sea breeze.
Evan walked out into the sand with Barty’s hand in his. Even in the late orange of the evening, Barty was lovely, grinning wildly, a gentle breeze blowing thick locks of dark hair past his face. Evan couldn’t resist leaning over and planting a soft kiss on Barty’s cheek.
From the water, Pandora waved to them, their sky blue sundress hiked up around their legs.
“Evan!” They cried. “Barty! You’re here!”
Evan grinned. He wouldn’t miss this for the world. They were planning to light fireworks to celebrate their final night at Paraíso, while they ate and drank and ran up and down the beach. Evan didn’t need the fireworks, or the food, or the stocked cooler of beer and wine though. He just needed his friends, and he needed Barty. As long as they were there, he would be happy.
Marlene sprinted over and tugged on his arm. “Come on, Rosier. You’re on my volleyball team.” She grinned at him and started pulling him towards the net they had set up.
“Do I have a choice?” Evan asked.
“Nope!” Marlene responded cheerfully. Evan just smiled with a sigh.
“Guess that means you’re on my team, Crouch,” Dorcas said, smiling, her hands in the pockets of her cargo shorts. Her many braids were piled messily on top of her head in a bun. In front of the bun was a pair of sunglasses perched atop her head. “Ready to kick some ass?”
“Please,” Marlene said, rolling her eyes. Evan supposed that they flirted by challenging each other. “I could kick your ass any day of the week, Meadowes.”
Dorcas smirked. “We’ll see about that, McKinnon. My team is gonna destroy you.” She jogged off to go recruit more team members.
Marlene watched her girlfriend run off before turning to Evan. “Be on the court in five minutes. I’m gonna go catch up with her.” And then Marlene ran off after Dorcas.
Unfortunately, Marlene’s team did not win.
It was a valiant effort, but they had been just beaten out by Dorcas’s team who had cheerily referred to themselves as ‘the Golden’, causing everyone on Marlene’s team, which had been christened ‘the Silver’, to groan. Evan probably would’ve been more annoyed if Barty hadn’t been joyfully bouncing up and down in triumph absolutely adorably. He didn’t really mind that much.
After a few more games of volleyball (“We’ll beat you this time, Meadowes”), Evan grew tired, sitting down on a blanket underneath a sun umbrella to just relax for a moment. Regulus took a seat next to him, equally worn out from his forced participation in volleyball.
“You’re welcome,” Regulus said, rolling his eyes. “For setting up you and Barty.”
Evan smirked and rolled his eyes in return. “Yes, thank you so much for forcing me into an uncomfortable situation with the man I loved.”
“... I’m going to move past the ‘love’ thing for now, but it was only uncomfortable for like, five days before you finally grew a pair.”
Evan snorted. “Yeah, yeah. Thanks, Reg.”
Regulus smiled, and it was soft. “I really am happy for you, Evan. I’m glad that you’re happy.”
Evan returned the softness of his smile. It wasn’t often they talked with this much genuine affection, generally leaving it hidden beneath their words. “I know, Reg.”
Evan held open his arms for a hug, and, surprisingly, Regulus leaned in to return it. They stayed that way for a minute, allowing each other to be affectionate in a way they almost never were. A grinning Barty walked over to them, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow.
“Marlene finally won a round,” he said, taking a seat on Evan’s other side. Regulus dropped his arms from around Evan. “War is over.”
Evan chuckled and kissed his boyfriend’s cheek. “Good. They’re a nightmare when they get competitive.”
Regulus watched them for a moment before standing up and brushing himself off. “I’m gonna go help James set up the fireworks. Have fun.”
Pandora stopped by next, with a plate of sandwiches and a six pack of beer. they laid them down next to Evan, the array of colorful shell necklaces on their shoulders jangling together. They gave Evan a small hug before rushing off with Lily and Mary who wore a similar pile of necklaces.
It wasn’t long after that when the fireworks started, bursts of colorful light spreading in the now-dark sky. Evan leaned his head onto Barty’s shoulder as he watched, greens, blues and reds exploding in the night. Evan turned into Barty’s neck and whispered two words.
“I love you.”
And to Evan’s joy, Barty returned the sentiment.
“I love you too.”
They sat together in the blue of the night, and the blue of the endless waters in front of them and took in the everything. The colors, the lights, the friends they had, and each other. The future didn’t matter to them when their present was so beautiful.