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It was 4:30 am when Michael woke up to an empty bed. That in itself wasn’t very uncommon, but he also knew that simply going back to sleep wouldn’t cut it. With a sigh he turned to his side, patting the little shelf next to the bed in search of his glasses. Another sigh had him swing his legs out of bed as he realized he had left his glasses next to the sink when they went to bed.
It took him a second to get used to the blinding light in the bathroom, but he grabbed his glasses and put them on with practiced ease, not wasting time on a glance in the mirror. It didn’t matter anyway.
On his way out of the bedroom he then took one of the bathrobes from the hanger on the door.
Their living room was empty and cold, no sun visible yet who could cast a golden glow and make the room come alive. The singular lamp on the coffee table was emitting a greyish light, providing no comfort whatsoever and Michael wondered once again why Jeremy loved the damn thing so much. It wasn’t that the lamp was ugly, it pretty much was as ordinary as a children’s lamp could get but the grey light it shed made Michael uncomfortable. How could someone - a child in particular - get comfort from such a horrific glow? But Jeremy loved the thing, had always loved it. Even in High School he would turn it on before going to bed and it wasn’t until recently that Michael had managed to convince him that the lamp would be of better use standing in their living room.
Shaking his head, he traipsed down the hall, his naked feet being the only sound in their quiet apartment. The hallway opened into a kind of atrium with a glass elevator in the center. The ceiling, which was also made of glass, seemed dull at the moment because of the lack of natural light outside but Michael knew how beautiful this room could get especially around noon.
The elevator let out a soft dinging sound when Michael pressed the button and he immediately knew he was on the right track, when the elevator started its descent from just above the ceiling. It only took a minute to stop in front of Michael, the doors sliding to the side, barely making any sound.
Once inside, Michael leaned against the handrail, lazily pushing the button to start the ascend again, his head connecting with the cool glass behind him. He closed his eyes for a second, trying to sense everything around him. The coldness of his own feet, the deep hum of the elevator and the braille above the elevator buttons. Things he was familiar with, having come up here a million times, often during nighttime.
The doors slid open, letting a cold breeze inside, causing Michael to open his eyes and leave the elevator.
And there he stood.
Tall and rigid. Hands on the rail in front of him, back straight, head held high. The wind played softly with his locks.
Michael hummed to himself, as much as he despised some aspects of their life, seeing Jeremy all dressed up in a suit tailored just for him wasn’t one of them.
Slowly, he made his way over, instantly sneaking his arms around Jeremy’s middle as he reached him.
The taller boy let out a sigh and relaxed slightly into the arms of the older boy.
“I woke up alone, thought I might find you up here,” Michael mumbled, voice partly muffled by Jeremy’s back he was pressed against.
“Hm, had to get some things done…I’m sorry love,” the other boy responded.
Michael nodded against his husband’s back and they fell silent again.
When Jeremy grabbed Michael’s hands he huffed.
“You’re ice-cold baby, better we get you back inside,” he murmured as he turned his head sideways, pressing a tiny kiss against Michael’s temple.
“I’m good, lets stay here a little longer,” the boy replied.
Wordlessly, Jeremy turned around, prompting Michael to straighten up and releasing his grip around the other’s waist. A pout formed on Michael’s face by the loss of contact but was soon replaced with a happy grin as Jeremy took of his jacket, carefully draping it over the smaller boy’s shoulders.
They shared a kiss before coming to stand next to each other, Jeremy slinging one arm around Michael’s waist now.
The view up here was pretty, even with the grey light and clouds still hanging in the sky. The city lay beneath them, still sleeping, although both boys knew that was just the outside. Inside, underground, the machinery turned relentlessly, men working at ungodly hours every day of the week.
It was all theirs. Well really, it was Jeremy’s, but as Jeremy was his, the whole thing was practically Michael’s too. He didn’t work in the so-called family business in the classic way but instead made sure the technical departments worked as they should, but still. His job was easy, really. Most of his time was spent worrying about Jeremy anyways.
“I can hear you thinking, love. What is it you are debating in that bright head of yours?” Jeremy spoke up.
“Still can’t believe this is all ours…yours,” Michael said.
“Ours love, ours. It became yours as much as mine on the day you told me yes,” the other boy reminded him.
“I know, it’s still surreal. Sometimes I wonder…” he began.
“You wonder…” Jeremy prompted.
“How our lives might have turned out if we didn’t go to Menlo Park Mall that day,” Michael bowed his head and looked at his fingers against the handrail. They started to turn red, maybe they should head back inside soon…
Jeremy sighed, slowly taking Michael’s hand into his own again.
“Maybe it would’ve happened anyway. Maybe this, all this, was some kind of twisted fate. And after all, it brought us to this,” he squeezed Michael’s hand.
“I know,” the older boy smiled, “It all turned out well, I guess.”
They stood there, looking at each other, smiling. The sun took this as her cue to rise and shed a soft glow over the world beneath her. It was cliché, it was everything they were not, but none of the boys could hold back the grin as their lips met, eyes closed and they just stood there, kissing in front of the rising sun.
“Let’s get back inside, I could use another couple hour of sleep,” Jeremy whispered as they looked at each other, foreheads touching.
Michael nodded, stealing another kiss from the taller boy.
“You’ll make pancakes later?” he asked as they started to walk back to the elevator.
Jeremy laughed softly.
“Sure, I’ll make pancakes,” a kiss was pressed against Michael’s cheek, which made the boy giggle.
They made their way downstairs, the atrium now tinted in the first sunrays creeping through the glass ceiling.
As they passed through their living room, Michael shuddered at the sight of the lamp, still emitting its sickly grey light.
Jeremy was by Michael’s side in an instant.
“I still don’t get why you hate it so much,” he chuckled.
“I don’t get why you don’t,” the older boy grumbled, which caused Jeremy to laugh loudly.
“I love you,” he looked down at Michael, eyes warm and loving.
Michael sighed and leaned his head against Jeremy’s chest.
“I love you too,” he whispered.
They stood there for a minute, before Jeremy took his husband’s hand and dragged him into their bedroom.
It took some time for him to undress and when he finally settled against Michael’s back, the shorter boy was fast asleep again. Still clad in the bathrobe and Jeremy’s jacket, feet tangled in their shared blanket, snoring softly.
Jeremy grinned, trying to take back some of the blanket and get comfortable. As he too, drifted off to sleep, the sun rose higher, banishing all grey colors in the world, outshining even the hideous lamp on the coffee table until its grey light wasn’t visible anymore, fully submitting to the golden glow of the sun.
Everything was well.