New moon

It was the night before Ethari was leaving. The night before he was going to go pursue something he actually enjoyed.

Runaan was happy for him, really. Just... he would be lonely now. No more traps to watch out for while playing training games, no more time spent rambling together at the lunar falls, no more late night target practice in the woods, no more Ethari. It made his heart ache.

He tossed and turned in his bed, unable to shake the thoughts of the other moonshadow elf. The blankets caught on his legs and became a mess, getting trapped under his body and essentially making a stuffy cocoon around Runaan.

With a groan, he grabbed the blankets and pulled, just tangling himself further. Runaan huffed and crossed his arms, stuck on his back and staring up at the ceiling with the lingering thought that his best friend was leaving him.

But... something about that statement felt off. And surprisingly it wasn't the part about being abandoned by the one elf who felt like truly understood Runaan.

"By the moon, what has gotten into me?" Runaan mumbled into his hands, elbows now pointed up towards the ceiling.

"Best friend..." he continued, slightly opening his fingers and peeking through them. Runaan dragged his hands down his face with another annoyed huff.

It wasn't right. It didn't fit. His emotions felt like they couldn't be captured correctly with that word.

Then it clicked.

Runaan was smart... some of the time. None of the time if it involved romance, but this? This he knew from deep within his heart.

"I'm in love." The teenager gasped, eyes going wide. How had he not realized it before? What did this mean? Ethari was leaving tomorrow!

Sure, Runaan had crushes as a small child. And for a brief period of time, he thought heterosexuality was sort of a joke.

Both of his moms like girls. And he thought boys were really cute. So why did all the other kids talk about how cute the other sex was?

That was a fun conversation to have one night... Runaan remembers staring into the flames in the fireplace, part of him confused, but the other the exact opposite.

Elves didn't fuss over sexuality. Love was love, that was that. But it was still a confusing time, regardless of what people thought.

"By the moon..." Runaan mumbled, cheeks feeling hot. He glanced over at the small stone, obsidian, that still sat on his nightstand even after all of this time. His chest felt all warm and yet tight, and this huge smile spread onto his face.

"I love Ethari." He confessed to himself, then laughed quietly and hid his face with his hands, still smiling like an idiot.

"Tomorrow... I will give him that stone."

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Ethari awoke to the sun in his eyes. He felt like he had barely slept at all...

"The sooner I get up, the more time I will have to say my goodbyes." He mumbled, trying to convince himself to get up despite half of his face still buried in his pillow.

Ethari's eyes burned he was so tired. So, he decided to just close them for a moment. Just until they stopped hurting.

"Ethari! Aia is here!" His grandfather called, and Ethari groaned, lifting up his head before turning around and licking his dry, cracked,  lips. When had he even fallen back asleep?

"Okay, I'll be right down!" He replied, the trademark sound of sleep still thick in his voice.

Ethari blinked hard and sat up, feet touching the cold floor. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, then stood and pulled his shirt over his head.
He let it fall somewhere on the floor to be picked back up later.