Work Text:
It had been a long and very eventful day. At first Gyro thought he had struck gold when he came across the girl in the tree but after the events of the day all he wanted was a nice long nap before he and Johnny had to be on the road again.
The pair had set up camp on the outskirts of town, partly due to the fact that they had spent all of their money. Mostly because they just wanted to be as far away from the town as possible after the day’s events. Gyro took care of the horses and unpacked their bedrolls before laying down next to the fire that Johnny had been tending.
Looking up at the stars always made Gyro think. He thought about home and Marco, the boy who had caused him to be there in the first place. Was it possible he was looking up at the same stars from the cell he was being held in? Would winning this race even be enough to spare his life? Such thoughts had been a common occurrence since the race had begun even though Gyro would never admit it.
He glanced over toward his companion for a brief moment to find him shivering and staring intently into the flames. Gyro moved to wrap a blanket around Johnny’s shoulders and joined him next to the fire. The flames licked away at the crackling logs while Gyro began to hum. After a few minutes it became evident that Johnny wasn’t trembling because he was cold. A few quiet sniffles and some stray tears alerted him to the boy’s state.
“Johnny? Are you alright?” Asking seemed stupid to Gyro seeing as they had lost all of the corpse parts, but he felt it was necessary to try and comfort him. He reached out and placed a hand on Johnny’s shoulder. Gyro felt a shudder move throughout Johnny’s body and the tears began to fall freely. Johnny began to hastily wipe away at his face with his hand but it didn’t do much to help. “It’s alright Johnny. You can tell me what’s bothering you”.
The star clad boy straightened and took a deep shaky breath but remained silent. Gyro waited for Johnny to answer but after a few moments of silence he tried again. “Johnny?”
“Just give me a minute alright?” Johnny snapped at him and took another deep breath. There was a few moments of silence before he continued. “Sorry… I, I don’t like talking when I’m...like this.” He gestured loosely to himself before looking down at the ground. Gyro could see the faintest blush across his cheeks illuminated by the dancing light of the campfire.
“It’s okay. Take your time.” Gyro rubbed small circles into Johnny’s back before pulling him in to rest his head on his chest. Gyro could feel the irregular breathing against his chest as he patted Johnny’s head. Gyro started humming a calming tune while gently stroking Johnny’s hair. The two stayed like that until Johnny had calmed down. “Now do you want to tell me what’s got you so worked up?”
Johnny stared at the fire for another moment before opening his mouth and closing it again. He seemed to be having a hard time choosing his words. “I lost all of the corpse parts today. I may have just given up my only chance at walking again.” He paused and let out a sigh. “But if I had to do it all over again I’d make the same choice. You were gone Gyro. I thought you were dead.” Another shiver passed through the smaller man’s body and the two locked eyes. Gyro could see the tears welling up, threatening to spill from those beautiful blue eyes at any moment.
Beautiful? He had never really thought about Johnny like that before, but now that they were this close and Gyro could really see him, beautiful was an understatement. Looking at Johnny in that moment was as if he was gazing into heaven itself. Like the gods had placed an entire universe inside those brilliant orbs. Tiny barely noticeable sunkissed freckles dotted the bridge of his nose from the long days of riding under the sun. Gyro’s gaze wandered down to his lips. They were chapped and he could tell that Johnny had been biting them to try and stop from crying. Even so they were full and looked oh so soft and inviting. Like they were screaming for him to lean down and taste them himself.
At that thought Gyro tore himself away from the tempting gaze and gently pushed Johnny back to where he was sitting. He let out a soft chuckle “Nyo ho ho! Were you that worried that you’d never get to see me again Johnny boy?” He raised an eyebrow. At this Johnny looked visibly upset.
“It’s not funny you ass! You were gone! It was just me in that alley. It just felt… wrong not to have you there with me. You’re the whole reason I started this damn race in the first place and like it or not you’ve become really important to me Gyro. More than you’ll ever realize.” Johnny crossed his arms and huffed.
Gyro was caught off guard. Johnny wasn’t usually the type to express his feelings so this was all new territory. He put his arm back around Johnny’s shoulder and they both stared into the fire. All was quiet except for the occasional pop from the fire and the breaths coming from the two. After a moment Gyro spoke. “You saved my life back there Johnny. I don’t think I ever thanked you. So uh… Thanks for that.” It was a bit awkward but Gyro didn't really know what else to say.
Johnny leaned back on his hands and gazed up at the stars. His sweater that was slightly too small to be considered a sweater shifted to reveal a sliver of midriff. Gyro noticed how smooth the other’s skin looked and longed to run his fingers gently over it. The fire cast a light upon him that made his skin glow as if he were a god sent down from the very stars they sat under.
All these new thoughts were running through Gyro’s head. The longer he looked at Johnny the more he realized he was smitten. He had no idea when it had happened but there was no denying that sweetly anxious feeling in his stomach that became more intense the closer they got. Did Johnny feel the same? Should he bring it up? Was it even worth it? They might never see each other again once the race was over with. An overwhelming amount of questions swam through Gyro’s mind.
“Why are you looking at me like that Gyro?” Johnny hadn't even moved but had turned his head to look over at Gyro. He snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of the other man’s voice. He didn't realize he was staring at Johnny while spacing out. A blush crossed Gyro’s face and he was glad that the fire wasn’t too bright.
Gyro laid back and placed his arms behind his head. “Ah I was just thinking about how annoying you can be Johnny boy!” Johnny rolled his eyes and playfully pushed at his side. Gyro had feelings for Johnny, that was clear, but tonight wasn’t the night. Those feelings would have to wait for another day.