Christopher brushed his hair out of his eyes and slid his hands into the pockets of his warm jacket. At that moment, Adam stepped out of the bathroom and walked over, smiling.
"Okay, let's go."
They walked beside each other in silence, every now and then, Adam giving Chris a gentle nudge with his elbow. Chris noted the gesture, but he didn't smile as he usually did.
"Hey, look...we're almost there," Adam whispered. Chris looked up. He could hear the violin sounds floating towards them from behind the small coffee stand in the middle of Downtown Disney*. Adam was smiling as they walked closer, but Chris could still not bring himself to.
They stopped by the stone bench and watched in silence as Drew Tretick played Adagio, the musician's eyes closed as he concentrated on moving the bow across the strings.
After listening for a few seconds, Chris whispered, "I'm going to go look at something real quick." Adam nodded in consent. He probably hadn't heard; Adagio was his favorite piece and he would pay attention to him once it was done. Chris walked over to the candy shop, looking through the glass windows as the workers covered candied apples with caramel and other goodies. Chris turned his back to them and leaned against a part of the window that nobody was behind. His gaze wandered to the ground and suddenly, his eyes filled with tears. They splashed down his cheeks and he sniffled, reaching up to wipe his eyes briefly.
A shadow appeared at his feet and he looked up abruptly. Adam was standing there, looking confused.
"Chris? Why're you crying?"
Chris sniffled again and opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't think of what to say. Instead, he looked back down and felt himself tremble with emotion. He felt his heart leap when hands touched his waist and Adam's body pressed close. But he didn't want to look up. Adam gently pressed his lips to Chris' forehead and kept them there.
With that simple gesture, Chris knew that he understood.
*I don't think this pic was actually taken at Downtown Disney, but it's what I thought of when I saw the pic.
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