just a drop of light

be there

it was morning when they began their journey again. it was evan's 18th birthday, and every step closer they took to the town, seemed to raise a new possibility of something going wrong in his head. "what if one of the lanterns malfunctions and the whole city gets caught on fire?"
"don't worry evan, someone would stop it before it got too out of control. and they've never caught fire before."

"what if mother is there and she sees me and takes me back to the tower before they start?"
"she won't, if she does, i'll be sure to hide you. i promise."
"what if-"
"evan, nothing is going to go wrong, i promise. we have each other's back if it does, okay? it'll all be okay," connor consoled him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, making evan nod and let out a breath.
"if only i could convince myself that," he muttered to himself.

about noon, they reached the entrance to the city making evan's excitement and anxiety pool in his stomach. the aroma of flowers and fresh baked bread filled the air making him calmer as he admired the flower stall, feeling the flowers respond to his touch by leaning into his fingertips slightly. "these are my best sellers. do you like those, young man?" the elderly woman asked from behind the cart.
"yes, they are very beautiful. i can tell they like you," evan commented making the woman smile even though she didn't understand that evan could the flowers did love their caretaker.

"here you go, a beautiful flower for a beautiful boy," she praised, putting a peony behind his ear, caressing his cheek gently.
"thank you very much, ma'am. you are very kind," he complimented, making her smile more as he walked away. he was surprised at how soft her touch was. he'd never had someone touch him so softly before, it had only been harsh tugs and forced affection.

"i got us some bread," connor stated as he walked up to the blonde, "don't worry, i paid for it." evan smiled as he ripped off a piece of the warm loaf and ate it.

they spent most of the afternoon exploring the town, evan talking to a lot of the townspeople. a lot of the people seemed to like him which surprised him. it was so much warmer than he had expected it to be, both in temperature and how people treated him. he stopped, hearing a foreign noise, but it was very... pleasant. "what is that?" evan wondered out loud, deciding to follow it, connor trailing behind the best he could. they walked between two buildings and came out to see a trio of musicians playing three different instruments. people were gathered around, listening happily, some clapping along, but evan decided to do something more.

being in that tower alone, evan had a lot of free time, obviously, and one of the things he did was write poems. none of them were amazing or anything, but it was something to do, to fill his time. except one, one stuck out in his mind. so he sang, fitting the lyrics into the melody.

"i've learned to stay out of the way,
never have everyone's eyes on me.
before i make a mistake,
before i lead with the worst of me."

the musicians seemed to like it, and went with it, and the listeners seemed to like him too. they didn't even notice that their minor injuries seemed to heal instantly.

"on the outside always looking in
will it ever be more than it's always been
cause i'm look look look looking out
i'm waving from my window."

connor smiled, watching the other enjoy himself, before someone grabbed his shoulder making him jump. he was nervous to turn around. it could be a guard, and he could be taken to jail while evan would be left clueless in the city. "connor, it's me," jared spoke making connor let out a deep breath of relief. "i didn't expect to see you in town so early!" he exclaimed, hugging his friend when he turned around. "where's you bag? did you lose the rat-?!" jared exclaimed making connor quickly put his hand over the other's mouth to keep him from causing too much of a scene.

"no i didn't lose it. i know where it is, and right now, i'm trying to get it back. just... don't worry about it, okay? i have it under control." jared only rolled his eyes when connor lowered his hand.
"hey, con, who's this?" evan wondered as he walked up to connor and jared. jared smirked, finding the other quite cute.

"my name is jared kleinman," he introduced, kissing evan's hand making him blush immensely. "enchanté."
"e-evan," he stuttered, with a blush, making both of the other boys want to see awe loud.

"so how did you two meet?" jared asked, making connor and evan start stumbling out half answers. evan because he thought jared would think he's weird for being in a tower for the past 18 years, and connor because he didn't want to admit he was knocked out by a frying pan... twice. "you know what, nevermind. come on, zoe's at alana's," jared said, but connor quickly stopped him.

"no, i can't. um, evan, can i talk to jared for a second?" evan shrugged and then walked away, back to the musicians, while connor led jared to a secluded place. "he has the rattle, and i can only get it back if i take him to see the floating lanterns. i'll be back by tomorrow at noon, okay?"
"wow, he doesn't seem like one to blackmail," jared commented making connor let out a short snicker.
"yeah, well that's not the weirdest thing about him."

•

"where are we going?" evan asked as conor helped him into the small canoe. it was a little shaky, but he managed with only a little trouble.
"well, it's your dream to see this, thought you might want the best view," connor explained as he rowed away from the dock.

"your majesty, it's time," a guard stated as heidi fixed her necklace so the large sun emblem was evident. it was her husband's necklace.
"thank you," she said as she walked out and onto the balcony. everything was silent as the sun set in the background, and she untied the lit lantern from the small pedestal, letting it fly into the air remembering the first time she ever did was with the two closest men in here life, but now they were both gone. the people closest to the castle, lit their lanterns starting a chain reaction and slowly, the darkening sky was filling with the floating lights.

evan gasped, seeing the lights as they lifted into the air, he rushed to the tip of the boat, almost tipping it over. the moment was magical, a mixture of emotions bubbling inside of him. it was so much better than he had expected, just like everything else he'd experienced of the outside world. the lights spread out as they got farther away from their launching point, soon filling the dark negative space with light.

connor admired how in awe the blonde was, the lights reflecting in his eyes, enhancing the spark of happiness that was evident in them from before. evan thought the lanterns were beautiful, but connor found something else was more enchanting.

evan looked over to see connor staring and he smiled, sitting in the middle of the canoe. "hey, i was, um, scared to give this to you, thinking you might leave me, but now... i'm not scared anymore," evan handed connor the leather bag, but connor only denied it, forcing evan to lower it.
"neither am i."

and after that, the world was in slow motion. both felt it, the perfection of the moment, the romantic atmosphere pushing them together, and right as their lips started brushing together, something behind evan caught connor's eye.

a/n
i'm sorry to the people who haven't seen tangled for the the cliffhanger :(
i should be able to update in 2-3 days but i'm going on a trip for the next 5 days so if i don't post in a while that's why but i should be able to and if i can't it'll be the first thing i do when i come back :)