Promises at dawn

The sea breeze was still fresh when Samuel woke up. Gabriel was sleeping beside him, with his head resting on his arm. The dawn light was just peeking over the horizon, painting the sky in shades of pink and orange. Samuel watched him quietly, memorizing every detail: the curve of his smile even while asleep, the mess in his brown hair, the way he seemed so calm, as if the weight of the world couldn't touch him.

Gabriel slowly opened his eyes, blinking against the light. Upon seeing Samuel watching him, he smiled and murmured:

—Are you always going to look at me like that?

Samuel laughed, shrugging his shoulders.

—I promise nothing.

Gabriel sat up, still sleepy, and took Samuel's hand in his.

—Do you know what I like most about you? —he asked, his voice low and serious.

—Surprise me.

—That, for the first time in my life, I feel like I'm in the right place, with the right person.

The words caught him off guard. Samuel had spent much of his life doubting that true love existed, let alone that it could be for him. But now, sitting on this beach with Gabriel, all those doubts seemed as distant as the stars.

—You're the scariest thing that's ever happened to me —Samuel confessed, looking away. Gabriel raised an eyebrow, confused.

—Is that good or bad?

—It's good… but it scares me how much I care about you.

Gabriel hugged him without saying anything, letting the waves fill the silence between them.

—I’m scared too —he finally admitted—, but I think it’s because this really matters.

With that declaration, everything clicked. Samuel looked at him and smiled with a determination he hadn't felt in years.

—Then let’s make a deal: whatever comes, we face it together.

Gabriel nodded, and without hesitation, sealed the promise with another kiss, this time with the sun as a witness.

The sea continued its constant, eternal ebb and flow, but for them, time stopped. They had found something as rare as a perfect full moon night: an honest love. And they were both ready for whatever would come next.