When they stopped to use the bathroom and buy some food, Ross let the others go ahead, instead choosing to sit on a park bench outside the rest stop, staring in wonder at how different things looked, when the light wasn't from the Red Sun.
The sun that Max had spoken of, the one that fell, then came back up, was shining down from the side of the sky, with a white light that changed the way everything looked. The grass was a bright green, the rocks were various colors, ranging from grey to brown to black and all the way back to white, and there were so many different wildflowers, all of them utterly beautiful and surreal.
Someone sat down next to him, causing him to jump, and glance over with wide eyes. It was Max, raising his hands to show he wasn't a threat, eyes concerned. Ross relaxed, giving the older man a nervous smile. "Hey."
"Hey." Max smiled softly, the edges of it tinged with worry. "You okay?"
Ross nodded. "I'm looking at the colors." He explained, motioning towards the scenery around them.
Max's eyes lit up with realization. "Oh, yeah, I bet this is really weird, since you've spent your whole life in that town." He said, glancing around as well. "What do you think?" He asked, tentatively.
Ross considered, looking back and forth between the various objects around him. Then, he turned to Max with a bright grin. "I love it!" He announced, elated.
Max grinned back, his warm brown eyes crinkling up. "I'm glad." Ross' heart fluttered, and he had to remind himself to breath. "I can show you even nicer places, if you want." Max offered, looking suddenly very nervous.
"Nicer? What do you mean?" Ross couldn't imagine a place nicer than this, with the sun and the grass and the flowers.
"Like, I dunno, mountains, national parks, cities maybe, if you like those too?" Max offered, looking hopeful. "I can think of a bunch of places nicer than this rest stop. Do you wanna?"
Ross felt his heart leap into his throat, and couldn't respond with words, instead just nodding, energetically.
"Great!" Max grinned again, taking in a deep breath. "I'm glad."
Ross' eyes fixed on Max's, and both sets filled with a joyful relief, and, without really thinking about it, he leaned forwards, and pressed his lips against the other man's. Max froze, and Ross went to pull back. Oh, god, I'm an idiot, why did I do that?
But Max reached up and stopped him, before he could, cupping his jaw with one hand, the other resting on Ross' waist, as Max moved his head closer, recapturing Ross' lips. He tasted like blood and dirt, but Ross figured he probably wasn't any better, since he'd been in the same condition as Max, so he wasn't going to complain. Especially since Max was kissing him back. When they finally pulled away, Ross felt like he was floating. He stared at Max, a huge grin slowly forming on his face, as a smaller one grew on Max's.
"If you two are done making out," Max and Ross both jumped at Shelby's voice. She was smirking at them from by the car, Jess grinning beside her. "We're still a full state away from my apartment, and the sooner we leave, the sooner we get home. So, whenever you're ready."
Ross could feel his cheeks turning a bright scarlet, worse than Max, who wasn't very red-faced, but instead just looked irritated. He glared at the women, before getting to his feet and offering Ross his hand and a soft look. "C'mon." Ross gave him another smile, accepting help up. They continued to hold onto each other's hands as they got in the car.
For the first time since he was seven years old, Ross wasn't scared of what the future held for him.
THE END
STAI LEGGENDO
The Redstone Demon
Fanfiction"You're not Ross." Max choked out, as his hands scrabbled uselessly at the fingers locked around his neck. "Who-what are you?" He wheezed, as his vision started to dim around the edges. The thing wearing Ross' face grinned sinisterly, red eyes glint...
