Reality Check - A Huntric/Goldric Based Fic

The light from the billboard always shines but it changed twelve times since you went away.

-TV Girl

(first person to  get what song inspired this chapter gets a crisp high five)

Tension was thick in the air anytime Edric was around a mirror and it was blatantly obvious. Hunter could see that stupidly pained expression when he glanced into that damned reflection, knowing he pointed out every personal flaw he had after that concealment stone had gone. Hunter could tell the exact way how Ed's eyes skimmed over his face, his body, begging to have those perfect qualities back. It hurt him much more than Edric could ever know.

Edric missed being happy with his reflection. He missed that flawless hair style every morning, the completely clear skin (besides his beauty mark)... He knew Hunter could tell how often he looked in the mirror and he hated worrying him. 

"Ed, do you wanna go somewhere?" Hunter asked. He had been simply sitting on their bed, staring out the window.

"That depends, love. Where are you thinking?" Ed looked up from his phone, over at him.

"I wanna stargaze.. We're on the second floor, we can climb onto the roof from our window." He glanced over at him, his expression determined.

"Are you sure? You're always the very... calm one. You're always against this when I wanna do something like this." He chuckled, standing up and walking to the window.

"I'm completely sure. I could use just a little down time staring at the stars." He nodded, walking to stand besides him.

Ed didn't take much time to snap the window lock, pushing the stained glass windows open. A cold breeze mixed with the salty air of the sea besides them flowed into the room. Hunter took a deep breathe, smelling everything he could outside. Being a Grimwalker always had made him curious whether he had stronger senses than anyone else. Though, he had never asked around to see if he did.

In a single bold move, he stepped up onto the sill. Glancing around, Hunter then used out of place bricks and such to begin balancing, climbing up onto the roof. Edric hesitated for a moment. Heights scared the shit out of him, even in such a safe situation. Hunter reached out a hand then, willing to help him up. Ed sighed, stepping out of the window onto a brick sticking out. With the help of his boyfriend. he managed to scale the wall up to the roof, where they sat with their feet dangling off the edge.

A clear, shining night was delicately laid out before them. The stars shone brightly and clearly, illuminating the entire landscape. Streaks of a distant galaxy were visible in the night sky, paling the darkness with milky white arms. The occasional shooting star danced across the sky, leaving a trail of light in its wake.

It was truly the perfect evening for stargazing and they both knew that. Edric gently laid his head onto Hunter's shoulder, staring at the distant sky. Hunter had his hands firmly placed on the roof, supporting his weight.

They stayed like that for a while, just quiet and using each other to hold themselves up. Finally, Hunter broke the silence.

"Edric.. I can see it in your eyes that you wanna get out." He sighed a bit, looking at the distant sky.

There could have several meanings to that statement. That he wanted to get out of the Isles, that he wanted to get out of this repetitive cycle of their schedules, that he wanted to get out of his body... All of which were entirely true.

"It's hard having to see you like this, Ed. You're not happy with the way you look and I hate that. I just want you to see yourself the way I see you." He said, finally looking down at him.

"How do you see me, then?" Ed mumbled slightly in response.

"As my beautiful, sweet, perfect boy." He smiled, turning to kiss him on his forehead softly. "You know, when I first met you, I really hadn't been in the healthiest place. I had thrown myself into work at that stupid summer camp, I was dealing with those nightmares quite a bit, I had to try and find out how to look at guys without either getting shy or jealous that I wasn't born like that. Then you came along. You literally lit up my whole life. I can't imagine waking up another day without thinking about you an thinking about what WE'RE gonna do that day. You made my cold heart warm with just a touch, Ed... Do you realize how hard that was for me to do on my own? And I know you can't exactly control when you're self conscious or what you're self conscious about, that's just not how it works. But I need you to know I'm going to love you no matter what, okay? You are everything to me."

He couldn't help it. Edric just started sniveling at such a sweet statement. He knew Hunter had never been one for words of affirmation or even talking out his feelings but holy shit, that was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard. Hunter wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pulling him close and tight. Ed in return wrapped both of his arms around him, crying tears of overwhelming love into his boyfriend's shirt. The two stayed like that for a moment, softly holding each other.

"I love you so much Hunter. You are the best boyfriend I could have ever asked for."

"I love you so much more, Edric."

909 words.