The Eye of the Beholder [boyxboy]

Chapter XV

~Saturday 18th June 2016~

Gray let out a slow breath, rolling over onto his side in bed, reaching out to feel for River. He cracked open an eye when he found the bedsheet next to him was cold and empty, looking around the darkness of the room. River wasn't there, but the cold breeze biting into Gray's skin drew his attention to the balcony, where he found his lover. River was stood, leaning against the railing, looking out at the beach below, wearing only Gray's shirt. He must have been freezing, even if the wind was only subtle, the fabric barely passed his upper thighs.

Even in the moonlight, the boy looked beautiful. Gray sat up, taking a moment to admire him. The curvature of his back, the tattoos drawn over his calves that he knew wrapped all the way up to his hips, the way his hair would look adorable no matter how messy. Even a dishevelled mess, bruised and broken, Gray couldn't ever think that River was anything less than ethereal in his appearance. If he had believed in angels, he would suspect that River might be one.

River hadn't seemed to notice that Gray had awoken, giving the man time to sit up and stretch. He was growing tired of waking to an empty bed, especially since he had gotten so accustomed to having River by his side. He liked to be close to him wherever possible, they didn't exactly have forever with one another. Not at the moment, not whilst River was still only seventeen and under the watchful eye of his parents.

Gray pulled on a pair of sweatpants, balling up the covers from the bed and carrying it out to the balcony. The glass door had been left ajar, meaning Gray could be as silent as he wanted. Usually, River had a pretty good sense of hearing, but he didn't seem to notice Gray immediately, not until the man draped the covers over his shoulders and moved to stand next to him. River was smoking too, even though he had mentioned he was trying to stop, but Gray didn't bother to scold him. Clearly, there was something on his mind.

"Can't sleep?" Gray slipped his hand into River's, a smile curving his lips when the boy leant his head on his shoulder. He seemed to relax then, not looking so tense as he had before.

"Mhmm," River blew out a breath of smoke, his eyes half-closed, still locked onto the rolling waves of the sea. It wasn't too rough that night, it actually seemed to have calmed from what it was earlier. Then again, the tide wasn't entirely in, so maybe it just looked calmer in the distance than what it actually was.

"You should have woken me," River shook his head drowsily, stubbing out his cigarette and throwing the butt over the edge. Gray didn't bother to mention the addiction, he had never done so in the first place, and something was wrong with the boy if he was losing sleep over it, it couldn't be as simple as Gray had first hoped. He didn't need to add to it, no matter how insignificant the issue. An argument between the two of them wouldn't be any good of a plan at that moment.

"You looked peaceful," Gray couldn't help but stare at the bruising that was worsening over River's eye, mottling the perfection of the boy's skin with shades of blue and green, feeling himself tense at the sight of it. He couldn't ignore the rage that swarmed him everytime he thought of River, defenseless, at the hands of Mason and whoever else decided they wanted to beat him. It wasn't fair. River didn't deserve treatment like that. He was too good of a person, too kind of a soul, although not many others got to see that side of him. Gray was one of the lucky ones.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Gray rubbed his thumb over the back of River's hand, following the boy's gaze out to the sea. It was mesmerising to watch the swell of the waves, the crest and trough battering against the sand on the beach. No wonder River came out there when he awoke, it was soothing enough to watch, if not to listen.

"No, just couldn't sleep," River moved to stand between Gray and the edge of the balcony, with his back to the man's chest, still holding onto the railing with a ginger grip. Gray knew then that the boy was putting all faith in him. The railing could snap, and he could plummet to the ground below, but he trusted Gray enough to prevent that from happening. It was bizarre to the man, to have someone so reliant on him once again. He hadn't experienced that sense of intimacy for a long time.