Music
Prompt: Music
Ship: Suntan (Sunny x Kel)
Age: 16/17
This was stupid. This was so damn stupid. At what point in time did Kel ever think that this was a good idea?! How much caffeine did he ingest at the time to have his brain thinking that this would be smart?!
No, you know what? This was Aubrey’s fault. Aubrey said it was a good idea! This was definitely all her fault for enabling him! Agh, she knew he was quick to act, why didn’t she stop him?! Oh, that was it, wasn’t it? Ha, she was probably hiding in a damn bush somewhere just so she could see him fail miserably at the sad, sorry attempt he was about to make, and then laugh all about it for years to come!
Okay- yeah, no, never mind. This would only be bad. He hadn’t practiced nearly enough for this! First note and he’d immediately fumble. Kel was usually pretty confident about things! Hell, he made it onto the basketball team for the high school without breaking a sweat! But… this? Ha…
This… was Sunny.
Sunny made Kel feel all kinds of things. Happy, warm- nervous, dear god- It was safe to say that Kel was in love with his best friend. It took him too damn long to figure it out, and even then, he tried to pass it off as simply happy to have his friend back in his life! But, well… here he was, at Sunny’s doorstep, a guitar in his hands, waiting for him to open the door. Only an idiot in love would do this. An idiot.
“...And you, Kel, are an absolute idi-” Kel mumbled to himself, turning around with his face already heated up in premature embarrassment, ready to head home to save himself from actual embarrassment, but as soon as he turned, that damn door opened, that last word quickly dying on his lips.
“Kel?”
Ah. Shit.
Kel sucked in a breath, lips pressing together as he puffed out his cheeks, eyes slightly widened as his grip on his guitar tightened. You should’ve left while you had the chance to, rather than just stand there the whole time after the knock!
He swallowed thickly, turning around to meet that half gaze of the noirette, eye patch covering his right eye. Whether or not Sunny would keep that patch on, Kel didn’t care. He knew that Sunny didn’t want to freak anyone out without having it on, but to him, he was beautiful either way. Dear god, Kel, stop thinking of things like that so loudly, or else you might blurt them out like you have a habit of doing-
“Oh! Hey! What- what are you doing here, Sunny?” Kel spoke up with his characteristically bright smile, only realizing the stupidity that escaped him after the fact.
Sunny was quick to quirk an eyebrow, one hand on the doorknob, his other hand resting against the doorframe. He didn’t even need to say anything in order for Kel to realize his silly, honestly nervous mistake- but he spoke anyway. And why shouldn’t he? He was able to talk for longer periods of time without his throat hurting him. After all, he’d hardly spoken for four years. “...Just- taking advantage of the fact that I have a home, I suppose-”
Well duh, of course he was! God, Kel-! “I mean-! Ha, well- great! That’s great, that you have a home- I-” The more he looked at Sunny, the more his heart raced. The more his heart raced, the less he was making sense. Sunny wasn’t one to disengage from eye contact, but right now, Kel really wished that he would. He himself didn’t want to look away, but he felt as if he may die if he didn’t.
Still, Kel remained strong. He took a steadying breath, doing his best to not let Sunny’s clear confusion deter him from going through with this. If Aubrey could see him now, she would surely be laughing her ass off. “Sorry! I-! …Do you have a second, Sun?”
Sunny’s gaze subtly dipped down to that guitar for a moment before returning to those caramel eyes that he silently found so much comfort and safety in. He stared for a moment before stepping a bit outside, gently closing the door behind him and giving a silent, simultaneous nod.
Okay. Okay, he was here. He was outside with him, staring at him. Please stop staring at him. But also don’t, because the feelings it gave him made him want to scream in the most positive of ways. Dammit, Kel, focus! Still, despite his nerves, he smiled, though a bit softer than usual. “Okay, great, I… wanted to share something with you. I’ve been, uh… working on it for a while! All those times I said I was busy after school? Well- this is what I’ve been doing,” Kel said with a little laugh, loosely gesturing to his guitar, watching as that onyx eye shifted briefly down to the instrument again. “I… don’t make fun of me, okay, but I-I did this for you! So! So… if- you aren’t bored yet-”
“Please, Kel.”
Those words had Kel’s eyes widening slightly, holding eye contact again with the boy in front of him. His expression seemed… soft. It wasn’t his usual look of stoicism, that was for sure. That had Kel’s own expression softening. He loved to see Sunny like this… See him acting in a way that didn’t seem like he was guarding himself. Seeming as if he was safe. Which he was! Sunny was safe, always safe, with him! But to actually see that painted on his face… it really made Kel feel good, knowing that he was the reason behind it.
So with that, and a still-nervous breath, Kel looked down, adjusting his grip on his guitar, and began to strum those strings that he always tried to be so delicate with. It wasn’t too long, maybe two minutes worth, but a sweet, calming, and simultaneously happy melody echoed leisurely through the air, blessing the ears of anyone who would happen to be nearby at almost ten o’clock at night. Could he have done this earlier? Of course. Was he planning on that? Also yes. Ha, Kel had planned to be here and serenading his crush at three in the afternoon! Damn nerves-
If Kel had given himself more time, he would have been able to do even better for Sunny. God knows Sunny deserved so much good… And Kel wanted to give it to him. He was just impatient, that’s all. He wanted to surprise him, wanted to show him that he did in fact think of him and care for him, enough to literally learn how to play the guitar and compose a song for him. Kel loved Sunny. He loved him so much…
The brunette was so focused on making sure he was caressing the correct strings and keeping his fingers at the right places that he didn’t notice, at least not right away, the fact that Sunny had a small tear rolling down his cheek.
Kel exhaled softly and a bit shakily as he stopped moving his fingers, letting the last note linger a bit with a light smile. He did it… ha, he did it! He did it, and he didn’t mess up! …Right? Oh god, please tell him he didn’t mess up without him even realizing it- He looked up, and only then did he take note of Sunny’s expression, pulling a small gasp from the taller boy. “Sunny..?! H-hey..! It- it wasn’t that bad, was it?” He tried to joke, but had a bit of difficulty masking his worry. He hated to see tears on Sunny.
Sunny exhaled shakily and shook his head, hastily bringing one hand up to wipe at his eye. “N… no. No, I’m sorry-” He said quietly, and it was clear that he wanted to say more, but his throat wasn’t letting him, almost as if it was closing up.
Without a second thought, Kel moved, carefully propping his guitar against the wall next to the front door. Then, he hoped for the best - the best being no rejection - and moved both arms around Sunny, enveloping him in an embrace, a rather protective one. The surprise and simultaneous relief and joy that Kel felt when Sunny’s hands came to grip at the back of his shirt was immense. His right hand came to the back of Sunny’s head, carding his fingers delicately through his hair. “Don’t be sorry, Sun…” Kel mumbled, closing his eyes and reveling in the perfect closeness that this shared embrace brought. “L-look… I just-... I really, really care about you, and I want you to know it. Y’know what I call that song…?”
A tiny questioning hum and a small squeeze was the response from Sunny. It had Kel smiling to himself.
“Sunshine.”
“...You’re a s-sap…” came Sunny’s shaky little response.
Kel leaned back slightly then, looking down at Sunny and meeting his gaze. “...Wow,” he said flatly, but it was obviously a silly comment. Sunny knew it too, for he let out a tiny emotional noise that sounded like a laugh before burying his face in Kel’s shoulder again. Kel laughed too, but quietly, closing his eyes again and embracing him fully once more, heart pounding so heavily.
“I like it, though… a… a lot.”
And just like that, Kel’s face flamed, opening his eyes to stare at his guitar. He tightened the embrace slightly, a giddy smile blossoming. Sunny liked it. He not only liked it, but he liked it a lot. Sunny was hugging him back, he was emotional, he was saying he liked this- Oh help Kel’s heart that felt like it was about to explode- “G-good… ‘s for you only…”
Sunny leaned back a little to again look up at Kel, and Kel didn’t waste a single second to look right back at him, briefly admiring the tiny tulip embroidered on his eye patch. That brief moment was all it took for Sunny to lean up and press the smallest but sweetest of kisses to Kel’s cheek.
Hero was less than pleased to have his nightly reading interrupted by a loud-mouthed Kel bursting into their bedroom in a fit of flustered smiles and laughs and cheers a few minutes later.
