These Stories Are Reasonable

The Realist and The Dreamer (One shot)

You don't have to listen with the story, as I have not done so or written it as so. But hey you can try it? It might be pretty, it fits the vibe. And I think this is the one song that sums up Gray and Stephen perfectly. (If you like it, look up the piano cover I think it's gorgeous)

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"Gray?" Stephen hummed, the two had been laying on their backs, the plush of Gray's bedroom carpet had softened their space. It'd been at least an hour that they'd just decided to lay there, occasionally there'd be a little conversation over something, though the majority of the time was spent in a comfortable silence. Gray believed, that you could tell who your actual friends were by how comfortable you were in their silence. Do you lay there in the soft blanket like atmosphere, on the verge of sleep, or do you feel the need to fill the air with insolate comments and unnecessary chatter? Surely Stephen's presence was enough for Gray, whether he spoke or not, as long as he was there, within arm's reach, then he would smile.

People often compare the darkness of midnight with silence, and sunny skies with cheers and laughter. Though Gray had found that on the most beautiful nights he'd ever witnessed, he had spent laughing and talking to his heart's content with Stephen, loudly in a perfect teenage fashion. On the other hand, Gray spent his most cherished summer memories, laying down next to him, on grass or carpet, and speaking in shushed tones. The pair simply enjoyed how the warm sun felt on their faces and in their hearts. Surely, those comparisons were flawed, "Yes?" Gray responded, opening his violet eyes for the first time in a while. He hadn't even contemplated going to sleep, though upon further examination, the streams of late evening light felt like a warm blanket as they poured through the window. Stephen often compared him to a cat when he'd mention such feelings out loud. He'd pretend to care, but he felt that it was a surprisingly good comparison, as drowsiness enveloped his mind. 

Gray loved the look and patter of rain; Gray loved disturbing the peace of night; Gray loved wrapping himself in the freshly woven fabric gifts the late sun gave; Gray loved.

"Do you want to get married Gray?" Stephen asked, rather unprompted. He remained still, stretched out along side Gray, in front of the gorgeously clear window. It'd been one of Gray's favorite things about his house since he'd moved here. From the second story apartment window, one could watch every sunset that ever graced the sky. One could attempt to count every colored that streamed from the watercolor painting that way the evening sky. They blended, so it was a difficult task, one that Gray regarded as something similar to counting sheep, as it put him to bed easier anyway.

If you could drown yourself in a pool of honey light, and absorb the warmth of a gentle heating pad, all under the cover of the most extravagant work of art you'd ever seen, wouldn't you find yourself there as often as you could?

Stephen had found him there the first time, nearly asleep. It was unalike the reaction his mother had, which was the tell her son to stop sleeping on the floor, as it was bad for his joints, or something else similarly insignificant. Instead, he'd felt the boy settle beside him, "It's really pretty Gray," He'd near whispered as they'd both fallen asleep there, as the scarlet reds and deep oranges had faded in an indigo purple, then to blue. Lastly, the cycle would end for the night in a void of black, peppered with carefully strewn glitter of all shapes and shimmer. Even the night was beautiful from Gray's window. Beautiful enough, that one could forget about the cold chill that had replaced the once warm and sunny space. 

"Maybe, I don't know," Gray sighed away the tension in his shoulders. School was tough, he knew that already, most people know that. If anyone ever tells you otherwise, they're a liar trying to seem smart. Gray had always been smart, memorization was one of his strong suits, flash card, flash card, quiz, quiz. Just because it's easier, doesn't mean it's not hard, and that's the whole truth. Gray crammed and studied obsessively, he put forth a surplus of effort, always, and reaped the fruit of his toil. Anyone receiving less from their farm, simply hadn't planted as much as he, or perhaps they'd had the seeds but not the energy to till enough of the ground for the plants to have space to grow. Maybe they'd forgotten to water it. Everyone is different.

Stephen laughed, it was one of Gray's favorite sounds, even if he'd heard it a million times. He could thoroughly and accurately picture the other's smile, bright with a hint of mischief, in his head. The way his eyes slightly squinted when it was a genuine one, and lacked when he used laughter as a substitute for sighs. "Perhaps I worded it wrong," Stephen had sighed that laugh, Gray decided. For a moment, his mind wandered, to Stephen's slight smile, a genuine one, perhaps it'd been brought on by a crappy joke or alternatively, the feeling of lightness he often described to Gray.

Gray looked at the sky and Stephen's eyes were fixed on clouds. 

The smaller boy, was quite the realist, though he tried as hard as he could to experience the feeling Stephen described when he'd been in the clouds. He described it as if he were really standing amongst the puffs of white. When he described them to Gray, with eyes upwards towards the endlessness of blue, he'd talk of the iridescent shimmer that lined each one. The gentle yellow tipped hues when the sun had fallen behind just slightly. "A silhouette?" Gray had asked at the time, as his brain struggled to imagine such a thing, as it was too otherworldly to have possibly been a human sight. Perhaps the comparison was the closest he would get to comprehending the even a fraction of the mess of imagination that Stephen walked through daily. A one track brain that believed what in what he could see and experience. A free flowing mind that dabbled in everything figurative, a beautiful mindset that created what he saw. Therefore, he created his own beliefs. Which Gray thought was wonderful, despite it not being his thing, it was a quality that he loved about Stephen.

"Let me try again," He hummed, "Do you want to get married to me?"

Gray smiled at the question, oh how forward he always was, and shameless too. "Stephen, we're in middle school and we're not even dating," From his angle, the other's face was not apparent, so he'd hoped Stephen couldn't see him either. Not him, nor his stupidly giddy smile, nor the blush that had flushed his cheeks at the thought.

He hummed, "Oh, is that a rule?" 

Gray felt the other shift slightly beside him, moving from his back to his side. The other mirrored him. As the two sat nearly face to face, both wore stupidly happy grins. "I suppose it's not," Gray answered, extending a hand to Stephen's, "But I think it's frowned upon to not do so." The window felt a little warmer than usual, by now the light had normally faded into a soft glean from behind buildings. It's dissipated so thinly that the darkness of the approaching darkness would be following behind closely. The chill of night shadowed, rushing in with a gust of frigid breeze.

"Oh I'd hate to be frowned upon," Stephen joked, as what they were doing now was already frowned upon. Laying under the shine of sunlight and shimmer of stars, hand in hand. The auburn had light freckles, only visible in such conditions. They perfectly fit his skin, complimenting his eyes in a way that Gray believed had once rivalled whatever beauty people saw in himself. He'd referred to it as once, since by now he was sure Stephen was far more beautiful then him.

Gray loved the closeness, more then most things. Perhaps more then the patter of rain on the roof and the whirl of his box fan as he tried to sleep. Perhaps more then laying under dappled light and admiring the colors of the sky. Perhaps more then sitting in silence with Stephen, or riding bikes at night. "But who am I to turn down a proposal?" He questioned. "Why me if I may ask before I give my answer?"

"Gray how would I ever choose someone else? There is no one else like you. I admire you for your attentiveness and gentle care, Gray you ground me when nothing else matters enough to. I want to stay here with you for as long as I live to, I don't think anything else could ever mean more to me then spending these little moments with you." He admitted, turning a little red. Of course a proposal wasn't embarrassing enough for Stephen, but an explanation was indeed.

"You are the sweetest thing, you know that?" Gray giggled, "Yeah Stephen let's get married,"

"Really?" Stephen asked the question like a bewildered child who couldn't believe his ploy to convince his mother of something had worked. "That's awesome," He laughed as well, not at a crummy joke or something he'd thought of wordlessly. 

"It is," Fondness for the silly boy was the most overwhelming feeling he felt when he spent time with the other. Oh how he loved the feeling more then one would've thought, he loved it more then all things, even closeness.

Well maybe not Stephen Ahn.

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I don't know what it is but I think this is my favorite thing I've ever written.

Have a wonderful whenever friends.