Through the Screen

abel 's eyes wander around the busy pavement, watching as a woman passes him with a conjoined stroller with two babies, both wearing blue onesies and one of them having a bow on their head. he smiles at them, and then at the mother, and the woman who can't be any older than twenty five returns his smile, finally walking past him. he sighs happily, clutching the straps of the backpack and pulling his sleeves over his fists—it's a habit he hasn't gotten rid of.

london's march air is forgiving, chilly enough for a sweater and warm enough to ditch a jacket, and the sun shines unabashed atop his head, painting a few strands of his curly hair in golden light. there are barely five minutes left to see noah, the wait almost seems longer than the three years he has spent fixing both himself and their relationship. he can feel the steady beat of his heart going haywire, he can feel the oxygen supply becoming bare, he can feel the shakiness of his hands and the heat in his cheeks—he's been anticipating this for so long.

his phone buzzes lightly in his pocket and he pulls out the device, trying to control the blush that marks his cheeks almost instantly.

noahrobster : where are you?

the app had found it's way back onto their phones only two weeks ago, when adrian had spent a considerable amount of time convincing both of them to have the signature 'robster' next to their names for no apparent reason other than the entertainment of watching his fathers cringe.

abelrobster : almost there

he bit his lip before adding onto his text.

abelrobster : i'm nervous to see you

noahrobster : don't be, it's only me

abelrobster : yeah but it's been a while

noahrobster : it's fine i won't bite

: unless

to add any more colour to his cheeks but noah has proved him wrong yet again. now he's standing in the middle of a pavement with his cheeks stained red and an embarrassed grin

shut up

he is pushing the doors open to starbucks, conventionally the most inappropriate place to see your husband again after years but noah had insisted on getting coffee first and abel was really in no position to contradict anything the man said. he walked further into the busy shop, trying to spot noah's dark fringe somewhere along the mass of people but having no such luck. fortunately enough, after a solid minute of

that?" and being surprised to look at noah would probably be an understatement. the years look unbelievably good on him, the old pictures he had of noah do no justice

is pushed back into a quiff, his glasses resting effortlessly on the bridge of his pointed nose, and the sleeves of his shirt tighter around his biceps. his broad shoulders and defined arms give away instantly that he's been working out, and abel can't promise

as they get in line, and he watches as noah's cheeks flush, his fingers going up and pushing the hair further up in a movement of insecurity. "it looks really good," he compliments and noah thanks him with a small

look too bad yourself," noah says, letting his gaze shift to the way the soft material of the sweater falls off abel 's shoulders and exposes his collarbones and it's only a second later he notices the small black gages covering his earlobes.

him nervously and noah raises his hand in a bold move, placing it on his cheek and taking ahold of the plasticky material gently, watching as abel draws in a shaky breath. it pleases him in a strange way that the littlest of his touches still

letting his hand fall back

speak after that, quickly ordering their drinks and making their way to a table of

how have you been?" abel starts, and noah finally looks at him, trying not to get too carried away with the relief he gets by hearing abel 's voice

okay, good," noah answers vaguely and offers him a small smile. "what

abel replies, hoping for this conversation to stay as light hearted as possible.

else to say. he does actually, but whatever he wants to say doesn't match the placidity of

adrian?" abel attempts to keep the conversation going

him just as much as i do," noah says and abel scrunches his nose.

has to do it," abel snorts, and noah laughs, momentarily

times since the incident as to not end their friendship on a sour note and he

chair and finishing the last of his drink. he fiddles his fingers together, keeping his eyes fixed on the glinting material of his