"What the hell?!" Elio jumped up and stepped back, looking Oliver dead in the eyes as he slowly stood up, before turning away. He wants to be mad, but he can't help but get lost in Oliver's eyes, lost in the memories of that summer, 4 years ago.
Oliver furrowed his brow, "Elio?"
"I thought you died! Either that or you'd gotten married and had kids and forgotten about us. You could've called, you could've written, you could've come to see us but no, you leave us, leave me! I watched that train take you away and thought that wouldn't be it. Oh how wrong I was. Did that summer mean nothing to you? Were all those smirks and winks and smiles fake?"
Oliver stared at Elio. Even mid-rant about how much of a dick he'd acted, he couldn't help but admire Elio, that gorgeous brown hair, those eyes of endless beauty.
"I'm glad you called to say you were getting married but why was that your last call? Do you hate me? Did you just want to upset me? What's your logic here?"
Oliver cut him off. "Elio, look at my hands. How many rings do you see?"
"None" Elio replied, both in shock and confusion.
"I called that engagement of years ago. I couldn't marry some woman I've been off and on with. We didn't love each other, we didn't get along. I'd found my person already and it was not her."
Elio's anger was increasing. "So, what? You get married but you actually didn't get married, and you didn't bother to tell me because, what? You don't care?"
"Elio. I'd found my person."
"Why do you keep saying that?"
"Elio, they're stood right in-front of me. The only person I would actually like to live a life with."
"So then why did you leave? Why did you get engaged?"
"Well" Oliver scoffs "I couldn't really tell people 'I can't marry you, I'm gay for a kid' now could I?"
Elio chuckles softly.
"That's why I left, in fact. I was so scared that I'd hurt you, that I'd do something wrong and we'd both be in deep shit. So for a year or two I tried to forget about you, you were just a child and it wasn't gonna be good for either of us. But I failed every time, I couldn't even date anyone else because the thought that I'd be throwing you away was heartbreaking."
Elio's eyes were welling up, with tears of relief, slight happiness, and a feeling he can't yet describe.
"So I convinced myself to wait until you were older, I knew when your birthday was and counted each one until you weren't just a kid anymore. I'm sorry I didn't bring you anything, but I brought me. Please forgive me, I can't stand the thought that I hurt you, or that you'd hate me. I couldn't stand the silence and I needed to speak to you."
That phrase. Elio's mind was racing, sprinting back to the first night they'd slept together. Can't stand the silence, need to speak to you.... Grow up, I'll see you at midnight.
At this point, Oliver was still talking, but Elio couldn't listen, he was playing through all the memories of that summer.
You're not gonna get a nosebleed on me are you?
I love this Oliver.... It's not bad.
Does this make you happy?
Everything they'd said and done was coming back to him. He put his index finger on Oliver's chest. "Elio" he sighed. Oliver pulled him in and kissed him, just for a second or two. Oliver's mind was playing through all those memories, like the time he was looking at statues on Mr Perlman's projector. All those times Elio was effortless gorgeous, all those times he just wanted to get up and run away with him. He pulled away. "God I'm so sorry. I was a dick, I never thought about how this would affect us in the long run, the second I got on that train I already missed you."
Oliver kept talking. Elio kept thinking. Thinking about the time by the WW1 statue, the first time by the river, and all the times he'd been back since. He looked up at the leaves above him, the sun breaking through the gaps. He looked at the grass he'd had his first truly enjoyable kiss on, the river he'd had those moments in with Oliver.
"And the truth is," this phrase brought Elio out of his trance, Oliver watched his focus shift back to him, his words. "The truth is, I'm so madly in love with you Elio" he sighed, grabbing Elio's hands but averting his eyes to the floor.
"What?" Elio blushed.
"You heard me"
"Yeah but say it again."
"With words?" Elio frowned at him, with words? What other way is there? His thoughts were soon blown away. He couldn't think, he could just feel a hand on his back, one on his head, Oliver's lips on his. He flung his arms around Oliver, tightly gripping his shirt.
All those times he just wanted to get up and run away with him...
"Let's go" Oliver pulled Elio's hand, even though he could see he was still getting his breath back.
"Where?" Elio asked, staring at Oliver's hand in his. Oliver stopped and turned to face him. He smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
"Anywhere!"
