They walked through the deepening air back to their usual spot, and the air seemed the darkest it would get for a while. A navy filled the blankness around them.
Tom picked up his bag. He looked back, seeing Huck pick up his own bag, too, slinging it around his shoulders.
"You're really coming?" Tom asked with a smile. Huck shrugged.
"If I'm wanted." He said, and Tom nodded.
"Let's go, then. Aunt'll be waiting up for us." Tom said, and they made their way through the woods, still. They walked and walked and continued, and the sun went down and left them in stars. Together.
They walked in step with one another, and breathed in sync, and eventually got back to Tom's house. Tom opened the door and saw Aunt Polly sitting in the living room with a cup of tea, waiting up for him.
"Aunt Polly, I'm home." Tom said, taking off his shoes. Huck took off his own pair of worn-down shoes, and they both set them by the door. Huck wrung his hands as they both approached Aunt Polly.
"Hello, Tom. You've--" Aunt Polly stopped, looking to Huck. Tom glanced back at him with a smile, too, and saw an unease and wildness in Huck's eyes.
"It's Huckleberry, Aunt Polly."
"Why, Huckleberry Finn!" Aunt Polly set down her cup of tea. Tom looked over at Huck and saw the tenseness in his face at his old name, but then they met eyes and Huck just shook his head. "I heard you were back-- what brings you to our house? Oh, Tom, I haven't even had time to clean, I..." Aunt Polly turned, picking up a cloth or two and re-laying a blanket.
"It's alright." Huck said. "I ain't had time to clean myself up either." Huck said. Tom glanced over at him, slightly perplexed-- Huck wasn't the sort to wash up. Maybe it was just for show. Maybe that was another thing different.
"He'll be sleeping over, Aunt Polly. In my room so we don't bug you much."
"Oh, alright, Tom. It's good to see you after so long, Huckleberry. You look cleaner."
"And you look just the same as you did before. Thank ya' for having me." Huck said. Tom looked between their closed-mouth smiles. He thought Aunt Polly was a lot frailer, older, than before. It must've been for show, all their words. Or maybe Huck hardly remembered her.
Tom nodded and led Huck away. Up the stairs. They were silent under Tom's feet, but under Huck's, there was a creaking.
He led Huck up to his room. And Tom heard a rustling from inside of it, and saw his door was opened a crack. Tom inhaled a preparatory breath, and his steps grew heavier as he walked towards his room. He opened the door quickly, and the door continued opening and hit the wall.
"Sid." Tom said, harshly and darkly, and the combined noise from the door and his voice made Sid startle. Sid turned to face them, a book in hand. "I aughta tell Aunt Polly how often you in here. She'll sure give you a lickin'--"
"Sid, that's you?" Huck interjected. "It's been a while since I seen you, boy!" He said. Sid looked at Huck briefly then, glancing to Tom, smiled that thin crooked smile of his.
"Hey, Huck. Heard you were back."
"What are you even reading on that shelf?" Tom asked, taking steps towards him. And Sid's smile left him and he closed the book sharply, pushing it back into the bookshelf. Huck entered the room a few steps with Tom and set down his schoolbag.
"Ain't for you to know, I bet." Huck said, looking up, and Sid smiled up at him before leaving with light, scared feet, avoiding Tom and his eyes.
Sid left and closed the door behind him with a slap, and then it was just Huck and Tom in the residual silence of his room.
"Sorry." Tom said, setting down his own schoolbag. He was already walking towards the bookshelf, looking for the brown journal. He knew it wasn't the one Sid was reading, but... He took it out, holding the worn pages gently as he turned to the drawing.
"Whatcha lookin' for?" Huck asked. He walked closer, and then he was slightly behind Tom.
He could feel Huck's breaths on his neck, and the warmth of him right there, and it made Tom's face heat up, too. He ignored it, staring at the drawing. Tom gave a quick glance to Huck and then picked it up, showing him.
"I... This sketch. Joe drew you when we were all in the woods together. I ended up getting it. Remember?" Tom asked. Huck shook his head slowly.
"Nah, I don't." Huck said, and a redness came to Tom's face.
"Oh."
"But I remember plenty of other times, though." Huck said. A smile moved its way into a grin. "...I'm plenty flattered you'd keep a drawing of me, Tom."
"Yeah, well," Tom ran a hand through his hair. He puffed out a breath. "I forgot I even had it until I spotted Sid going through my bookshelf a few weeks ago. It..." Tom closed his eyes for a moment and put it away into the pages. "It really helped me out, then. With getting Becky back and things. I don't even know why, I..." Tom puffed out a breath and pushed the journal back into the shelf.
"Tom," Huck started gently, "why are y'all so harsh with each other?" He said. Tom turned to Huck, who was still right behind him, and he grew aware of his beating heart in his throat.
"I... I don't know." Tom said, and their voices had grown soft, and they were so close. Tom looked to Huck's deep eyes and away again, "It's just how it is, I guess. And he's always getting me in trouble, anyways. He-- He always goes through this bookshelf, too." Tom said. Huck shook his head lightly, and Tom looked down, running a hand through his hair.
Tom sighed.
"You always give me awful lots to think about, Huckleberry. Say," Tom took a step away from him, walking over to his bed. He swallowed in a dry breath. The warmth left him. "It's getting late. You wanna sleep?" Tom asked.
"Yeah, sure. Where should I...?" He looked around as he spoke.
"You can sleep on my bed if you want."
"Are we sharing? I ain't wantin' for you to sleep on the floor, Tom." Huck wrung his hands together, taking a step towards him.
"Well it ain't no bother." Tom shrugged.
"Tom, if I, who usually sleeps on the ground, is in a bed, then you aughta be in a bed, too." Huck said with a warmth and a fervor.
"Fine. We can both sleep on it, I guess?" Tom supplied, and Huck shrugged, wringing his hands.
"Sure." Huck said, and a quick smile came and left his face.
"Well, come on, then." Tom yawned. And so they got into bed. Tom took a pillow or two and gave them to Huck, and they got situated, opposite each other, foot-to-face. They still sat up, though, talking.
"...Thanks for this, Tom." Huck said. His voice was drowsy and deep and it made Tom's stomach swarm. Then Huck moved his foot up and it came closer to Tom's face. Tom pulled back sharply, almost falling off the bed, and his exhales of breath turned to laughs.
"Please do not." Tom said, a smile in his voice, and Huck laughed, too. Tom loved the noise. Huck moved his legs away. "And it's no problem. I'd have you here long as you want." Tom said.
"Really, though. Thanks. It's been a while since some'n actually let me crash with them." Huck said.
"I should be thanking you, Huck." Tom said quietly. He brought the blankets closer to his cold skin. "I've felt so lost, sometimes, recently. You're always helping me out, somehow." Tom said. He heard Huck rustling, moving, and looked up to see him. Huck was looking back. Their eyes swam with light in the dark room. They smiled at each other.
"Let's go to bed." Huck said. And they stared at eachother for a while longer.
Eventually, Huck let himself fall down, and his upper body met the bed again, and the whole thing shook.
"Goodnight, Huckleberry." Tom said, falling down the same.
"Goodnight, Thomas." Huck said, and they laughed again. Tom could hear in the shade of the air how Huck smiled, and that made it spread to Tom. "Goodnight." Huck said finally, and his voice was so soft and warm that Tom could only listen to it fade and melt with the air. He could only close his eyes and repeat that second in his mind until he fell asleep, because the way he said it just made Tom's chest warm.