NatePat One-Shots

Of Music and Theories

The sun beamed down on the gray sidewalk, in a little city called Los Angeles. People often wore hard expressions of concentration or the fear of another coming day, the colors of the wind mottled and cold as they passed by the eyes of pedestrians. Buildings made of glass and metal stood tall in the sky, reflecting sunlight and the faces of people passing by. In the alleyways were crumbled pieces of concrete, dumpsters, and lots of cracks home to many rats. They'd scurry out before scurrying back in, weary of the humans walking back and forth between each other.
Two men appeared from the shade the alley provided and drifted into the crowd, their hands clasped together so they wouldn't lose each other. One was tall with pale skin and charred hair, wearing his black button up shirt and a pair of denim jeans, oak brown eyes trained straight ahead without turning to look at anyone. The second man was just a bit shorter than the other one, skinny and young looking. He had tousled brown hair that curled only slightly, his eyes the same glowing color, he wore a brown leather jacket with a lighter pair of denim jeans. People stared at their hands and chose not to say anything about it, minding their own business just as they were. A local park came into view with children playing and mothers talking idly, the grass was moist with water droplets from the rain that occurred last night, but the two men ignored the beauty and sat on a bench together.
"Matthew, you can stop now."
"Stop what?"
"Stop twitching your fingers!"
"Ah, Nathan! You know I can't control that!"
Nathan, the pale man, chuckled dryly and tightened his hold on Matthew's hand. A lone butterfly fluttered about them with an exquisite pattern on its wings, a combination of purple and green. Without any time to dwell on the creature, Matthew spoke up.
"At least my ears don't turn red when I'm embarrassed!" He wheezed.
Nathan retorted, "Your whole face turns red and you don't see me callin' you out on it!"
They laughed together, dreamy smiles on their faces as screams of joy echoed in the distance. The sunset masked the early morning clouds in golden light, reflecting off of a nearby pond and causing ripples of sparkles to burst from the warm water. Matthew sighed and rested his head on Nathan's shoulder, taking in the glory of the park and everyone that walked passed. Now would be the perfect time to ask, thought Matthew.
"Nate?" Matthew said.
"Yeah?" He answered.
"Can you tell me again? About our family?" Matthew asked.
"Yeah, alright." Nathan sighed.
Preparing himself for the telling of their own story, Matthew snuggled closer and blushed when Nathan chuckled warmly. Out of all the fairytale's he's read, out of all the news articles, this had to be his favorite.
"Guys like us are judged—rightfully so, for we are happy with ourselves—because of who we love and how we show it. Once we find jobs and earn our keep, me and you, we're gonna buy a nice house. It doesn't have to be big, not at all, just enough space for our children." Nathan was lost in his own voice as he spoke, mesmerizing the man beside him. "We'll adopt two kids, maybe three, and we'll raise them right. With you, Matthew, I'll be complete. We didn't run away for nothing, I love you, and I can see our future as if it's happening right in front of me."

"Everything will be perfect, I promise—Hell, I even swear—and I'll love you until the day I die." Nathan finished, smiling unconsciously.
Matthew felt tears prick his eyes and he wiped them away, the thought of being together with Nathan was magnificent, but with children of their own... incredible. His heart beat so loud that he was surprised nobody else heard it, his face was flushed red with adoration, it made the beauty of the park shine even brighter than before.
Matthew whispered, "I heard people can make money by playing video games."
"Then we'll have to look into it, won't we?" Nathan chuckled, also keeping his voice low.
The sun was starting to set and Nathan pondered on where they'd sleep for the night, the park seemed like the best option if they wanted to save the money Matthew stole from his parents. But he couldn't put his darling through all of that, not his prince. But what other choice did they have? The day Nathan proposed to Matthew was the biggest catastrophe in history, the first mistake he'd made was asking in front of the theorist's own parents. They disapproved and refused to let the ebony anywhere near his beauty, going as far as to locking the poor boy in his room until Nathan gave up. That was the night that Nathan proposed again to Matthew in secret, watching tears run down his face and wiping away his own when he finally said yes. Oddly, it was Matthew who said they should run away, that there was no way his parents would approve of them or even allow them to be married.
"Maybe, if we'd explained ourselves, my parents might've considered letting us get married." Matthew suggested, disappointed in himself.
"Could've, would've, should've, we can't go back now." Nathan gave a half smile.
Even if they didn't have the right living conditions, Nathan didn't love Matthew any less, they wouldn't be so close if they hadn't run away with each other.
"Nate?"
"Yes, Matt?"
"Will you sing for me?"
"Of course, darling."
Nathan was a talented musician before they left, he'd forgotten to take his mint-green guitar before they ran off into the night. Of course, his parents didn't care either way, they didn't take him seriously until the night he never came home from Matthew's house. He only had his voice but he'd sing for his beauty anytime he asked, the song being close to his heart in many ways.

"If I could begin to be
Half of what you think of me
I could do about anything,
I could even learn how to love!"

Matthew sighed, smiling sleepily and letting Nathan's voice lull him to sleep. He didn't care if they slept at the park tonight, if he was with Nathan then everything was okay.

anybody else
red of mice and men?