A Touch of Courage (Troyler AU)

A Thing of Beauty: Prologue Part 1

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever: Its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness; but still will keep a bower quiet for us, and a sleep full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.

― John Keats, Endymion

Troye's POV

It was that time of the day when the sun cast an ethereal glow across everything it touched.  As it set, it bathed the trees of the forest in a warm light, turned the blue of the lake a dark orange and finally, illuminated two small boys; one scrambling swiftly up a tree by the lake, and another standing on the ground, shading his eyes from the dying sun and gazing up at his companion. 

As the sun finally set behind the clouds, the boy standing on the ground dropped his hand, revealing large vibrant blue eyes framed by thick lashes.  A faint smile was etched on his lips as he called up to his friend, "James, one day you're going to fall and break your neck and I won't do a thing to help you". 

Even as he spoke the words, Troye Sivan knew they weren't true.  He would do absolutely anything in his power to prevent James from getting hurt.  Hell, if he saw James falling he would probably dive beneath him to try to break his fall and break his own neck in the process.  James paused in his climbing and glanced down with eyes full of mischief, his blond hair falling into his eyes as he flashed Troye a slow smile.  As the smile widened and lit up his face, Troye felt the familiar drop in his stomach.  There it was, that teasing smile that had made Troye fall for him in the first place.

He allowed his mind to wander back to the first time he had met James, all those months ago.  He'd been having breakfast with his father, studiously avoiding making any sort of eye contact with the man while his father just as studiously avoided looking at him.  Troye's eyes were fixed on his cereal and his father had just picked up a newspaper when Peter, their butler, announced the arrival of the new chauffeur and his two children.  Troye glanced up to see a man who looked to be in his late-thirties standing beside Peter, trailed by a young girl and boy.  The girl had long brown hair and solemn eyes set in a petite, pale face.  She stood almost completely still, not fidgeting or looking around, just staring straight ahead with an expressionless face.  The boy was the complete opposite of his sister in both appearance and mannerism.  To contrast his sister's dark locks, his hair was a warm blond, with a fringe that fell into honey-colored eyes.  Whereas his sister stood still, the boy fairly burst with contained energy, taking in his surroundings and not even attempting to hide his curiosity. 

As Troye continued to study him, the boy suddenly turned and looked directly at him.  When their eyes connected, Troye felt an odd jolt in his stomach.  He immediately dropped his eyes, but they moved back up on their own accord to find the boy looking at him curiously, a slight smile on his lips as he scanned Troye from head to foot. 

Troye felt himself flush and cautiously glanced at his father to see if he had noticed this exchange, but his father was busy talking to Peter and gesturing at the new arrivals.  Taking a quiet breath, Troye shifted his gaze back to the boy, only to see that the boy was still staring directly at him.  When the boy noticed Troye's attention was back on him, he tilted his head slightly and gave him a slow smile.  The same smile that would continue to trouble Troye for months to come.  The same smile he was giving him now.

Troye let his eyes run across Jame's face, resting on his full lips and the way they curved, flicking up to see how his golden eyes sparked and shifted in the sunlight, taking in how his blond hair danced in the wind, casting shifting shadows across his face. 

James tilted his head to look at the water before speaking.  "I want to look at the colors more, they're so beautiful".  Looking at the lake, Troye had to agree that it was a very fetching scene, the setting sun variously turning the waters brown, orange and red.  I should paint this, he thought vaguely to himself.  It really is beautiful.  Even so...