A World Without You. (Human AU Connor x Markus)

Chapter One

Baby blue skies that would melt into cherry red and gold sunsets, warm sand that contradicted the cool breeze against Connor's brown hair... The two sat on the seemingly endless beach's shore, shoes long forgotten as they let their feet soak in water they couldn't feel, clad only in pajamas. Connor looked up at Markus, intertwining their fingers with a soft smile. He opened his mouth to speak, but no noise left it, as usual. The smile weakened slightly, but his partner was there to comfort him, reaching up to caress the smaller's cheek. Connor's pale hands wrapped around the other's neck, a smile tugging at his lips as his mis-matched eyes met Connor's hazel ones. Connor wanted to tell him 'I love you', repeat the phrase and exchange sweet nothings with his lover until his throat hurt, but he couldn't.

The brunette sighed, leaving the other's embrace and shifting his position slightly, eyes now directed to the open ocean that lay before them. It all felt so real, the toffee hands running through his hair, the soft lips that pressed up against the back of his hand, the dolphins that would jump from the crystal clear ocean that lay before them... But it was all just a dream.
Markus wanted to reassure the other, pepper him with kisses and find out what was wrong... But he couldn't. So he sat there, rubbing Connor's back in an attempt to soothe him. Connor relaxed into the touch, a smile forming on his lips as he let his eyes close. The hand on his back left, and he turned to look at his partner. Markus's hand came up to touch his cheek softly, and he slowly leaned in, half-lidded eyes gazing at the other dreamily. Connor could feel the warm breath against his skin, as though it were real, and he found himself leaning in as well. Their faces were inches apart, Connor's forehead gently touching Markus's. Connor wrapped his arms around the other again, welcoming him into a warm embrace. Markus leaned in more, his lips coming closer and closer to his partner's. Connor took slow and deep breaths, slowly beginning to close the space between the two. It felt like hours before Connor could finally feel the other's breath against his lips. He took a deep breath in preparation of what he was about to do, and closed the space between the-

"BEEP BEEP WAKE UP, BITCH!"

A gravelly and deep voice rang through Connor's empty household, and he let out a long groan before beginning to blindly reach across his strangely large bed and to his nightstand, tapping the 'Stop' button on his alarm. He sat up, rubbing his tired eyes as he grimaced at the slight bits of sunlight that filtered through his closed blinds. He knew he shouldn't have let Hank choose his alarm... What else did he expect? Something nice to wake up to? No, of course not, not from Hank. He just had to scream 'Beep beep wake up bitch' into Connor's phone for a solid two minutes. Connor straightened his glasses, pulling his unwilling body from the bed with a long sigh. He wobbled over to the bathroom, taking a good look at himself in the mirror. His usually 'Styled to Perfection' hair remained a disheveled mess, big bags accompanied his eyes, and his glasses were placed lopsided on his face. Ah, how adequate. Not to mention the worn-down and stained sweatshirt he had worn to bed for the last three or so nights. With a light chuckle, he turned on the hot water, putting on his 'Broadway Showtunes' Pandora station. He hated Pandora and their stupid ads every two songs, but damn did he love showtunes. Stripping himself of his clothes, he waited for the station to load and play whatever the hell was on at the time.

"Dearly beloved, we gather here to say our goodbyes!"

Aw hell yea, Rent, only the best musical of all time. Connor smiled victoriously to himself, letting the warm water run over his hair as he sang along, not caring if his neighbors heard. With a small giggle at the lyrics, he began to wash himself off, closing his eyes in content as the song came to an end with the lyrics before Roger and Mimi's kiss. He had forgotten what the song that included the kiss was called because he hated that scene, and usually skipped over it, but that wasn't the point. His smile widened as "Gaston" came on, another one of his favorites. LeFou had always been one of his favorite Disney characters, the "It just occurred to me that I'm illiterate and have had to spell it out loud before" never got old. He was very excited for the remake, and even more excited when he saw LeFou was gay. It was nice to know that the world was moving forward...

After a few more songs, he got out, still smiling as he finished "Upgrade". Modern musicals weren't really his... Taste. But they were good, nonetheless. He combed through his hair and brushed his teeth, putting on a button-up black dress shirt and a gray vest. It wasn't often he dressed so formally. Well, maybe it was, but still. He straightened a small blue bow-tie he had put on to match the buttons on his vest, and did a small twirl in his full-body mirror. He smiled, straightening his glasses before heading out the door. He'd pick up some breakfast at McDonald's maybe, then it was time to start the day... A boring old day, that would be the same as any other day. Letting out a long sigh, he rubbed his eyes again. Maybe that would change, maybe today wouldn't be normal. But whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, he didn't know.

~~~

The dark skinned man's mis-matched eyes snapped open, and he lay in bed, simply contemplating what he had experienced. These dreams of his... They inculded a shorter male, a brunette with soft, brown eyes that had the stars in them... His skin was pale, slightly freckled, but still beautiful. And his hair... It was soft, like his lips and his skin. He was so perfect, his face, his body, it was all flawless. 'Styled to perfection', as his father would usually say. And so he lay in bed, simply day dreaming about his mysterious dream-lover, who may not even exist.

He let out a long sigh upon realizing this, and dragged himself from the bed with a short grumble. Good morning, time to start the day, he thought whilst making his way to the bathroom. He washed his face, gently splashing the running water against his face before brushing his teeth. He didn't have much to do today. He'd paint some, eat some, then sleep some, as he usually did. But what to paint was the question... He could paint an animal, a celebrity, just move his hand over the canvas with a brush in his hand... Or he could paint his lover, paint the beautiful landscapes they saw together. He left his bedroom, walking down the stairs and to his 'Arts and crafts' room, as one would call it. He took a look at various unfinished projects left lying around. He pinched the bridge of his nose, grabbing a new canvas and setting it on the easel before him. He thought for a minute, trying to remember the environment, the beauty of it's colors and the various animals they had seen.
Without realizing it, he had started painting, the brush sliding along the canvas with a somehow careless precision. He let his mind wander, to the man he so dearly loved and to the beautiful sights they saw together. To how he'd try to cover the intense blushes that contradicted his pale face, how every inch of him was perfect. His body, his face, his oh-so-beautiful eyes and the stars that sparkled in them, his hair as it blew in the wind...

Markus didn't know how long it took to finish the painting. Minutes, hours, but it all felt like seconds. The most beautiful seconds of his life, just seconds daydreaming of his lover, the perfect man... He took a step back, appreciating his own work for once. It was beautiful, but it didn't compare to his literal dream-lover. Nothing did.

He looked down at his paint-covered arms, sighing again. He'd paint a little more, maybe a portrait of his lover, then take a shower and do whatever he had to do. It was a boring life, really. The tiny bits of stress he experienced were from deadlines, and it wasn't often that he actually failed to meet expectations. Even when he was distracted. And lately, he had been very distracted. Waking up after the dreams just felt so... Wrong. It felt so wrong waking up to see no one next to him, waking up to a world without his love.