Even while away Étienne managed to be more present in Étienne’s life than anyone ever had been for a long time. Through video calls and music, they both could feel the other being there for them.

The different time zones were annoying, not being able to hug each other was hard. Daniel’s morning was Étienne’s afternoon, Étienne’s morning was Daniel’s night. But it was more than Daniel could have ever wished for.

The days were long, the sun would shine brightly, would cast shades of gold through the air as the amount of days before Étienne would come back diminished. But through his lonely window, birds were the only one he could share the view with.

***

Daniel met Étienne's family through video calls and even became friends with Étienne's older sister, teaming up with her to annoy the younger brother. Without Étienne around, Daniel still kept on talking to most people around the book club. Slowly, he could let some people in his life.

Even with friends around, the days would sometimes get long. He'd spend his days hoping for Étienne to text him, spend his nights dreaming of a hug.

And the amount of days before Étienne came back slowly diminished. It was three months, then a month, then a week. And when he'd come back he'd finally see that nothing has changed.

***

When their eyes finally met through the crowd everything fell back into place. It was like Winter finally was over, letting Spring flowers bloom. The walls took Étienne's pink cheeks' tint, hints of honey started to mix with the air.

Étienne made his way through the crowd and hugged Daniel so tight he might have broken him. Without them even thinking they're lips got dangerously close. Can I? Étienne hesitantly whispered, his lips brushing Daniel's. But it's been so long since he's been dreaming of doing it again that he can't take the time to wait for an answer.

Daniel's knees were awkwardly bent, Étienne was tip-toeing and his head was tilted backward so that their lips could touch. But every single second of it was perfect. It wasn't movie-perfect, but it was still the perfect cliché love-story. The kind you see in mangas, read in fan fictions and find in series. The tall one and the short one. The shoujo first accidental kiss. The shoujo first real kiss. That moment when they separated at the airport, that moment when he finally came back. The fireworks in the air, the sharing the room thingy, the sparkly flowery first love...

But it was more than just a cliché story. It was his story. Maybe if he red a book about himself he'd hate it just as much as those books he despised, but maybe what made a story good wasn't always the the story itself. Maybe it sometimes depended on the characters, the narration, the people that surround you.

And maybe how he got where he got didn't have much importance for him as long as he had Étienne in his arms. It didn't matter that their first kiss was dumb and that they struggled and were separated for the whole summer and even were both boys.

All that mattered was that Étienne was smiling at him, right there in his arms, and beside that nothing could ever compare.

- Fin -