The van is almost silent — Argyle snoring, Jonathan’s Walkman whispering quietly, the ocean breathing below the cliff. Two sleeping bags zipped into one. Two boys pretending to sleep.
Mike shifts closer until their knees brush.
“…Will. You awake?”
“…yeah.”
Mike breathes in, shaky.
“I was thinking about the painting. What you said in the desert.”
Will’s breath catches — tiny, but real.
Mike reaches under the sleeping bag until he finds Will’s hand, threading their fingers together in the dark.
“You said El asked you to make it… but what you said about it — the one who keeps everyone going, who everyone looks to, who’s important in a way they don’t even see…”
He swallows.
“That wasn’t her, Will. That was you talking about me.”
Will’s eyes shine in the moonlight, wide and shaking.
“Mike…”
Mike shifts closer again, close enough that he can feel Will’s breath warm on his cheek.
“I didn’t get it then. Or maybe I didn’t let myself. But I hear you now. And… Will…”
His voice almost breaks.
“I love you. Not like a friend. Not like a brother. I love you the way you meant it.”
Will lets out a small, broken sound — then he closes the last inch between them, kissing him.
It’s shaky and soft at first, but then it settles into something warm and slow and perfect — like breathing after being underwater too long.
They pull back only enough to breathe, still close, noses almost brushing.
“I love you too. So much it’s stupid.”
Mike laughs a little under his breath and kisses him again, deeper, his fingers sliding to the back of Will’s neck. Will pulls him closer until their legs tangle beneath the sleeping bag.
At the front, Argyle snorts in his sleep and rolls over. They both freeze — then silently giggle into each other’s shoulders, trying not to shake the whole van.
“We have to be quiet.”
“You’re the one who can’t whisper.”
Mike kisses him again to shut him up. They don’t stop for a long time.
Eventually, they settle again — curled close, fingers still laced, their foreheads almost touching but not quite.
“Crazy together?”
Will squeezes his hand, sure and warm.
“Always.”
The ocean keeps breathing. And for the first time in forever, they fall asleep smiling.