When the Leaves Fall [bxp] ✔

19

TW: Some transphobia (deadnaming), if you don't feel up to reading it I have --- at the beginning and end of the section and I have a summary at the end of what happens!

Hands Intertwined

The movie hadn't been as amazing as everyone had hoped. In fact, it sucked. It was terrible, and they'd all been super excited about seeing it. In the end, they just ended up being grateful that they'd bought snacks and had each other's company. All of them hadn't hung out in a while and having the seven of them together was amazing. Felix was surprised they'd made it through the entire movie, but the fact that they weren't really watching the movie and instead had quiet conversations (one of the perks of sitting in a nearly empty theater) might have had something to do with it.

Felix could barely even remember the plot of the movie because his mind had been too focused on the fact that he was sharing a bucket of popcorn with Jupiter. The others each had cups in their hands that they'd periodically hand to Felix to refill, but since Jupiter and Felix were at the end, the two of them just shared the popcorn bucket. Each time their hand bumped into his, Felix had felt his breath catch.

Even in the light from the movie screen, Jupiter's eyes seemed to sparkle, their smile shining bright. The way they tilted their head when they laughed was a picture Felix couldn't keep out of his head even if he wanted to. They'd worn cream pants that they'd made a black shirt. Every time they wore loose button-downs half-tucked into pants Felix was sure his heart stopped. Their warm aura and star necklace they wore made their black shirt seem like a hug from the night sky. And space in a purely metaphorical sense was absolutely the most comforting and brilliant thing.

"What're you thinking about?" Jupiter asked softly from next to Felix. The two of them were walking slightly behind everyone else, Quin and Nils having an animated discussion with the others interjecting every once in a while. Felix felt his face flush as he pulled a hand through his hair. Felix had worn a brown cardigan that he had left unbuttoned, not bothering to pull it around him, letting the wind cool his shirt.

"Nothing," he said far too quickly. Jupiter simply shrugged, their shoulder gently bumping into Felix's.

"If you say so," they sang, glancing at him. Their hands were right next to Felix's and Felix moved his hand slightly to the left, they would be practically holding hands. Felix forced himself not to, he didn't want to make them uncomfortable, he said that he'd wait, and if they weren't ready then they weren't ready.

Jupiter slipped their hand into Felix's, loosely intertwining their fingers with his. They leaned into them, gently letting their head rest against him. Felix felt his heart speed up and just gently squeezed their hand, not able to stop smiling. Maybe they were more ready than Felix had thought. Felix glanced forward to see Tarla smirking at him, and simply ignored her, not even rolling his eyes.

Their hand was cold against his warm one, and the sleeve of their shirt half covered their free one. Felix felt his face warm as his smile just continued to grow. They seemed so much smaller than him when they tucked their head into his shoulder— Felix blinked slowly, they were just so— he just— he liked them a lot. He couldn't describe it, but the way seemed to perfectly tuck into their shoulder, the way their hair fell into their eyes a little. Felix gently used his free hand to push away a few of the strands and they just shifted their head a little.

"Your shoulder's comfortable," Jupiter mumbled, a gentle almost fragile smile on their face.

"Mmhmm, I'm glad," Felix said softly. They walked like that for a bit, Jupiter leaning into Felix, their hands intertwined. When they got to the crosswalk, Jupiter lifted their head, watching the traffic light, waiting for it to turn green.