“Wow”

Percy was looking into the intricately floral spirals of a glass red rose bud which was framed on three glass leaves. Supporting the glass rose was a thick black band being held by Philly.

“You… You made this?” Percy gasped. 

“Yeah, heh heh,” Philly began to put the glass rose on Percy’s neck. “I wanted to give you a rose but didn’t want you to have to deal with more dying flowers on your hooves.”

Percy brushed his mane from his face, he looked down at the rose and looked up at Philly. 

“I love it, Thank you” Percy flew up and kissed Philly on the cheek before looking him in the eye. “And I have something for you”

Percy and Philly walked over to Philly’s car. Percy stopped behind the car and started jumping a bit in excitement. 

“Check the back.” Percy tilted his head to the car. Philly made it to the passenger side of the car and opened the door. 

“Oh my…” Philly screamed.

In front of him was his…old kite? No, the frame had been disposed of ages ago, this was the exact same version as the old kite, down the streams at the end of the body.

“Percy, you are amazing! You are absolutely amazing! I love it!” Philly squinted his eyes excitedly, hopping around.

“And it’s one of those kites that are already masked. So you don’t have to worry about spraying it.” Percy explained “so no thunderbirds or dragons or whatever eating your kite,” 

“I love the kite.” Philly looked down. “But I love you more.”

“Wow, Philly.” Percy narrowed his eyes. “You are really corny.”

“Happy Valentines Day,” Philly said.

“Happy Valentine's day to you too Philidelphia,” Percy responded

There was a brief pause as they both looked at each other. Philly broke the silence by clapping his hands together.

“Now…” Philly said“Let’s go fly this thing,” 

“I knew you were going to say that.” Percy smiled.

…

Percy and Philly were sitting on a small checker-patterned blanket both seemingly unphased by the winter breeze. While Percy was entrenched in another book, Philly held the cord keeping the kite in a small radius as it zipped around. 

Percy looked at Philly who was sporting a white turtle neck, black skinny jeans, and a zebra-striped scarf. Percy’s furrowed forehead expresses bewilderment at Philly’s lack of layers.

“Are you sure you're not cold?” Percy said.

“Who? Me?” Philly turned to Percy briefly. “Nah… this is nothing”

“Okay…” Percy said slowly.

Percy looked down at his book again with only a few questions lingering in the back of his mind, which served as a distraction from the contents of the book. 

He didn’t really want to bring them up, not yet. However, he reflected on how far he and Philly came from where they started.

Almost half a decade ago, Percy perceived it as an eternity, he nearly got run over by his current boyfriend, only meeting him again in college, and now he’s thinking of the long term.

Percy had never found himself committed to something like this, not to anything, and not anyone until now. Perhaps it wasn't appropriate to bring it up at the moment but if he didn’t bring it up now it might be the thing that ends the greatest thing that ever happened to him. So… 

“What do you plan on doing after college?” Percy asked casually.

There was a pause, allowing the flow of the breeze to presume uninterrupted by chattering again. Percy’s heart skipped a beat, he began to wonder whether he was killing the mood by doing this.

“Thats a good question,” Philly responded before immediately letting the quiet resume. “I don’t really know right now… what about you?”

“I might have to go back to school after this,” Percy said. “I don’t know if that’ll affect us or not…”

“I mean, it could possibly,” Philly said. “But we can find a way around it right?”

“I guess, but like…” Percy paused. “I don’t know if…uh… never mind…”

Percy looked back down at the book. He didn’t see the point of continuing the conversation.

“Are you okay, babe?” Philly asked. 

Percy felt himself trembling not from the cold breeze flowing through the park but from the storm that had been raging in his head. 

A storm that had been building up for a while now, maybe even before the relationship. He recalled a few times when someone asked about marriage, kids, and growing up together. He noticed when people were asking these things, their faces would glow up. Talk about their overly complex wedding plans, the children's names, and retirement. 

But when Percy was asked, he could help but shrug only leading to the crushing weight of those brief stoic gazes. 

He knew that he was supposed to get married, supposed to have kids, supposed to get old, and retire. But the more he processes it, the more he considered the impossibility of it happening especially with a partner who could basically live an infinite amount of Percy’s lifetimes. 

The past and the future have fused together to make a perfect storm of depression and anxiety all whirling within Percy’s brain.

“Are you doing okay, Percy?” Percy turned to Philly.

Philly was staring back at him with a neutral gaze.

A smile slowly crept on Percy’s face, being thinly held together by the idea that he needed to show his boyfriend that the storm didn’t exist.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”