Under the Willows

     “I have a surprise for you,” Wynn said one summer night.

     “Oh?” Hon turned his attention from the spot of grass he had been examining to his partner, suddenly interested in this declaration. “A gift, perhaps?”

     Wynn giggled, at the sound of ringing bells. They shook their head, reaching an arm forward to help the other up, which Hon took gladly. Now at his feet, he was left to look over his partner in the moonlight. A gorgeous sight.

     “Kind of,” they said. “But you need to follow me.”

     “In that case, then,” there was a bright smile on Hon’s face, “lead the way.”

     The forest never slept. Wynn and Hony’s voices boomed through the woods, but the disturbance wasn’t disruptive to the quiet. On the contrary– the quiet lull of nature around them seemed to accompany their words, like an orchestra scoring a scene in a play or a movie. Around them, there were bugs, with their soft little chirping. As they passed through some of the thicker parts of the flora, they could hear small creatures making their way through the branches above them. The entire time they felt at least one pair of eyes staring at them, owls that supervised a safe journey to where they wanted to go. None of them feared nature, and nature did not fear them.

     “Are we lost?” Hon asked, knowing full well the answer was no. Still, he threw his head back onto the sky, dramatic as always. “Wynn, I don’t know south from north! How will we ever return to where we came from?”

     Wynn laughed, and again, there were bells. Hon tried to conceal his smile under the faux agony he was displaying. The little theatrics were there just to make Wynn laugh.

     “I’m still not telling you where we’re going,” Wynn said simply.

     “What if we can’t make our way back though,” Hon insisted, still playing up his emotions to try and get a reaction out of Wynn. “What if we get lost forever and ever? I’ve never been here before!”

     “Don’t be such a baby,” Wynn rolled their eyes, but the gesture was more amused than anything resembling annoyance. Even the nickname fell flat– Wynn knew exactly what those theatrics were for, but they allowed themselves to happen. For Wynn, this little back and forth was there just to make Hon laugh. “We’re heading southeast.”

     “Do you really know where you are going? I see no map, what if you’re toying with me?”

     “If you don’t stop complaining, I will leave you here, alone. And good luck coming back then!”

     Hon mimicked a stab to the heart. “Betrayal.”

     “Mhm. Don’t test me!”

     They often joked and teased each other over minor things, but neither of them meant any of their words. Little competition, banter, and back and forths, were all attacks shot through a facade of a battlefield. A war that served as entertainment with no real weapons, no real stakes, other than to push and pull on the trust they had for each other. Because Wynn trusted Hon, and Hon trusted Wynn, to such an extent, that he knew that wherever he was being taken to, they would not get lost.

     The good thing was that they were both creatures adept with the world around them, having spent countless days enjoying nature and all it had to offer. “It’s like I know this place, like the back of my hand,” Wynn had said one day, the first time they’d taken Hon out into a little adventure. “How well does one know the back of their hand, anyways?” Hon had shot back with a smile.

     Very well, it turned out, when Wynn walked through the uncharted roots, twigs, and branches as if there was a path clearly marked on the ground. Hon trusted his partner and kept on moving forward, until the path had opened up into a clearing of some sort, with a full view of the night sky through a gap on the trees.

     “We’re here,” Wynn announced, voice sweet, and soothing.

      Hon felt lost in the beauty of such little paradise, a small piece of landscape that was so far away from human eyes, that they were likely the first souls in ages who had gotten to witness it. Everything around them was just for the two of them: the grass, long and mossy, soft to the touch. The flowers, some closed, some blooming, scattered wild through the foliage. The trees, weeping willows, with branches and leaves like curtains to another world.

     “Have you ever been here before?” Hon asked, forgetting the attitude he had been planning to add to his words, too stunned to figure out a proper sentiment.

     Wynn laughed with a closed mouth, smiling wide as they added, “Yes, I have. Do you like it?”

     “It’s beautiful,” the man said, brushing his fingers through his hair. “It really is.”

     “This isn’t the surprise, you know?”

     Hon stayed in place, a mix of confusion and intrigue, as Wynn let go of his hand, and headed towards a corner of the clearing, disappearing behind the trees. They weren’t gone for very long, and in the meantime, Hon allowed himself to continue admiring the place. He placed a hand on one of the willows’ trunks and traced a finger through the moss that covered the wood. The tree was bigger than most he had seen within these woods. This place truly had remained undiscovered for decades, if not centuries.

     “Would you help me carry something?”

     Wynn’s voice took his attention, that ringing of bells again, this time wavering a little. Hon rushed over to where he had heard the sound and found them carrying a box on top of a box, doing his very best not to spill the contents of the first one. Hon was quick to take one of the boxes, and his partner sighed in relief.

     “What is all of this?” Hon asked, smiling with a raised eyebrow.

     “Follow me, darling,” was Wynn’s only response. And Hon was quick to oblige.

     They walked up to the middle of the clearing, where Wynn started to unpack their boxes. A set of candles, a basket, a couple of books, and a set of pillows, little by little Hon started connecting the dots.

     “Little late for a picnic, don’t you think?” He asked, even if the idea was making him smile like he hadn’t in a long time.

     “That’s kind of the point,” Wynn chirped up, fishing out a long blanket from the bottom of one of the boxes, “We’re stargazing. I would say that late is the best time of the day for it.”

     “What’s the occasion?” Hon asked, trying to sound more curious than he was excited. He had to keep his cool in one way or another.

     As they spoke, and without having to mention it, they both took possession of a pair of corners from the blanket, walking apart a few feet to be able to stretch it fully. It was a regular blanket, nothing specifically made for a picnic such as this one, or to be laid out outdoors, but the grass was dry and the fabric was soft enough, Hon felt like laying on it the moment his fingers touched it. Very pleasant, as anything Wynn chose and did was.

     “There is no occasion,” Wynn said, and now it was their turn to sound confused, even  if just a little bit, “I just wanted to spend some time with you.”

     “Is that so,” Hon muttered. It was getting harder to keep that excitement down.

     Wynn placed the pillows, the candles, and the box of food on top of the blanket, then themselves with a small huff. Once on the ground, they patted the space next to them and smiled wide at Hon.

     “Of course,” Wynn said simply, “I love you.”

     Screw looking cool, and screw keeping that excitement at bay. Those three words fueled the fire, and when Hon sat down, he did so when a plop, quick to wrap his arms around Wynn and keep him close. Wynn was laughing, not expecting Hon’s sudden physical affection, but outwardly delighted by it regardless. They held each other, both smiling wide, knowing that here, with no map, and no other soul around, was exactly where they needed to be.

     “Thank you,” Hon whispered, holding Wynn even closer. “I love you too.”