rooftop lovers

face-to-face

Bad greets Skeppy at the door with a huge smile.

"Geppy!"

He widens the gap between the door itself and the strike plate of the frame, his vision of the other becoming clearer.

"Such short notice."

Bad laughs, gesturing to Skeppy to wait outside - he had prepared their blankets.

"I can't help my urges," Bad's voice is muffled with distance. He's returned deeper into the building, presumably to retrieve the usual necessities they usually use during their routine. I guess tonight they were skipping dinner and going straight into the good part.

Bad comes back, blankets and towels messily scrunched in his arms. He brought two water bottles, fresh out of the fridge and some snacks for emergencies. His arms were overflowing with blankets. With winter right around the corner, it wasn't odd that Bad would huddle up close to Skeppy in search of warmth. After one night a few days back of both boys collectively shivering in the sheer cold, they had begun to use blankets to bury themselves in. Not only that, but the skies were already overcast with stars and the moon by 5:30.

Bad lets himself lead the way, Skeppy trailing after him. Up the spiral of stairs, they invite themselves to lay at the usual spot, blankets layered over them. Skeppy covers his body from his toes to his torso, embracing the coolness of this night. Bad is holding his blanket up to his neck, pulling the sheets upwards to his ears. He had always complained, saying his ears were going to freeze off in this climate.

They lay together, side-by-side as always until Skeppy breaks that silence. "Bad," his words are soothed.

An intermission, a gasp for air.

"Yes?"

Skeppy turns. Not just his head; his full body. He watches Bad's face intently. The redness of it. The tiredness of it. The way his breaths escaped more from his mouth than his nose.

"Do you.. Would you like to," his voice trails off, uncertainty in what he's about to ask. He had to ask - he had promised. "go, no, attend," a pause for suspense. Bad's face falters, he himself had been bubbling in anxious anticipation.

"What?" His words are hushed, hurried and fearful.

"Come with me! To the Winter Formal!" Skeppy breathes it out, breathless when it releases.

He sees it all. The way Bad's eyes widen with a sudden shock, and then his face turns, tilts to meet Skeppy's, though devoid of eye contact. "What?" he repeats, his voice even more shocked.

"I.. I had talked with Dream. He - he had suggested that.. No, he's not the reason I want to take you. He suggested the idea that I take you. Hell, I turned that proposition down initially; he had called it a date. But, I would really like to take you. I think.. I believe that we would have a lot of fun. Together. With my friends. They're going to be there too. But! It can just be used if you'd like! I don't think I'd mind. I think. Or.. Or! We can go somewhere else entirely. But, Dream offered to pay for your ticket. Unless you think stuff like that is dumb - the whole come and look pretty thing. Do you think it's dumb? Am I rambling? Sorry, I'm rambling."

Bad is still in pure disbelief. "Um! Sure. I think.. I think I would like to go with you, too. Just. Do- Do I have to wear something nice or something," Bad's eyes still wander, everywhere but Skeppy's face.

With a laugh of relief, he smiles with content. "I'm sure that is what's expected. Just wear any dress shirt and nice pants you have."

"Just - It's just that I've never been. I've heard it's only fun with a partner. I'm-"