[In his dreams, hands always reach for him. The dead grasp at his ankles, tear as his cloak, place their fingers around his neck and eyes and whisper in his ear that he isn’t doing enough — when will he do more? Dimitri should be more wary, then, of shadowy things that reach for him more, maybe fall on the instinct to recoil his fingers an inch or two in hesitation.
But no such hesitation comes. He doesn’t understand why, nor is he prone to questioning it, but slotting his touch against Oz’s companion’s is as easy as breathing, like he is reaching out to an old friend of many years. It's centering, correct, so much that it’s oddly distracting, and Dimitri has to blink and reorient himself in the moment when their contact is finally severed.
He flexes his hand out of habit, gives Oz an almost bashful-sounding laugh in reply.]
I’m glad to have made such a positive first impression.
[He drops his arm to his side finally, and the bright grin on his face fades into something softer.]
It is hard to explain why, but I feel as though… I have known the both of you all my life. I know that isn’t the case, but it’s strange, isn’t it? That I should call you my friend so readily and so soon.
[ Oz can't help but smile, a shy but amused expression that crosses his face. He knows, somehow without question, that Dimitri would be the only one to so readily accept that part of him, the shadowy thing that lives in his heart of hearts. Most others would fail to understand it, perhaps find it frightening. That simple, fumbling laugh lightens Oz's heart so much, he feels he might float away. ]
It's not strange. I feel it too.
[ Something is connecting them, a bridge between world and hearts linking them together. Dimitri is at once Oz's first friend and his oldest friend, and he can scarce explain how those two things can exist at the same time, in the same person, but he doesn't have to. Dimitri knows.
Quietly, and much in the same way his shadow had, Oz extends a hand to the prince. ]
[Without hesitation, without the self-awareness inherent in a young man born of royal blood and polite obligation, Dimitri reaches out to link his fingers with Oz’s. The connection feels solid and real, as though this were not a dream at all, a warmth where their bodies touch that makes him feel—
Secure, safe. Present and clear, in a way so very rarely granted to him.
He smiles, sincere and his eyes bright.]
Would it be selfish of me to hope that this dream doesn’t fade quite yet? That it might last an age.
[It cannot, he knows. Perhaps even as he says it, the edges of this place begin to haze and blur, like the brushstrokes of a watercolor painting.]
[ The second Dimitri’s fingers curl around his own it feels like… like a burst of sunlight over the horizon, a cool breeze bushing past his face that makes him feel at ease and refreshed and, oddly, safe. Oz has never known such a feeling in all his life, and he leans into it wholeheartedly. ]
Not selfish at all.
[ There’s a smile on Oz’s face, a gentle sort of thing that he doesn’t even think about. It’s just there. ]
I feel the same.
[ Oh, how he longs to stay like this, connected and yet somehow freer for it, but he can see the edges of this world beginning to fade. A world away, a hand alights on his shoulder, a gruff voice calling for him to wake up. Oz fights it a moment longer, his grip on Dimitri’s hand tightening. ]
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finalflight2020-07-12 03:12 pm
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But no such hesitation comes. He doesn’t understand why, nor is he prone to questioning it, but slotting his touch against Oz’s companion’s is as easy as breathing, like he is reaching out to an old friend of many years. It's centering, correct, so much that it’s oddly distracting, and Dimitri has to blink and reorient himself in the moment when their contact is finally severed.
He flexes his hand out of habit, gives Oz an almost bashful-sounding laugh in reply.]
I’m glad to have made such a positive first impression.
[He drops his arm to his side finally, and the bright grin on his face fades into something softer.]
It is hard to explain why, but I feel as though… I have known the both of you all my life. I know that isn’t the case, but it’s strange, isn’t it? That I should call you my friend so readily and so soon.
[Ever earnest, he says it as he feels it.]
no subject
It's not strange. I feel it too.
[ Something is connecting them, a bridge between world and hearts linking them together. Dimitri is at once Oz's first friend and his oldest friend, and he can scarce explain how those two things can exist at the same time, in the same person, but he doesn't have to. Dimitri knows.
Quietly, and much in the same way his shadow had, Oz extends a hand to the prince. ]
no subject
Secure, safe. Present and clear, in a way so very rarely granted to him.
He smiles, sincere and his eyes bright.]
Would it be selfish of me to hope that this dream doesn’t fade quite yet? That it might last an age.
[It cannot, he knows. Perhaps even as he says it, the edges of this place begin to haze and blur, like the brushstrokes of a watercolor painting.]
no subject
Not selfish at all.
[ There’s a smile on Oz’s face, a gentle sort of thing that he doesn’t even think about. It’s just there. ]
I feel the same.
[ Oh, how he longs to stay like this, connected and yet somehow freer for it, but he can see the edges of this world beginning to fade. A world away, a hand alights on his shoulder, a gruff voice calling for him to wake up. Oz fights it a moment longer, his grip on Dimitri’s hand tightening. ]
I’ll find you again. I promise.