Tall buildings stretched above them, creating a sort of junglescape out of slabs of concrete and walls of glass. Sunlight bounced between the buildings like it was playing a solitary game of tag. Crow and Ethan walked down the busy Chicago streets, admiring all the influential architecture and enjoying the summer breeze. The windy city wasn’t exactly blowing them over (that would come in the winter, when the thick ropes anchored on the streets were used so people weren’t knocked down) but there was a gentle wind, which made the day more than perfect to walk around and explore the city. Crow had performed the night before to a sold-out crowd and was still riding the high. That, mixed with the high he got from holding Ethan’s hand, and he almost couldn’t even believe this was all real. Two years ago, no one could have ever told him how happy he would be in the future. How perfect everything would seem. He also wasn’t the type to think about the possibility of the rug being pulled out from under him, and so he wasn’t worried about things feeling too perfect, as if his happiness needed to be knocked down or something.

“You sure about this?” Ethan asked as they stopped in front of a towering skyscraper. Crow looked up, quickly looking back down before he got too dizzy and chickened out.

“Yes, positive.”

“Because I’m totally fine with just grabbing something to eat.”

“Nope. I’m doing it.”

Ethan cocked his head. Those baby blues were bouncing between Crow’s eyes, searching for any sign that said Crow wanted to back out. He wasn’t going to, though. He was going to conquer one of his biggest fears, all while Ethan stood by his side. He was ready. He was going to stand in the all-glass box that jutted out from the topmost level of the skyscraper.

“Alright, let’s do it.” Ethan pumped his hand around Crow’s and led them through the sliding glass doors, entering into a huge, modern lobby with glass accents and massive screens that gave a colorful rundown of the building they were currently in. There was a line of people waiting to buy tickets at the booth. Ethan was a planner, though. He had bought their tickets online, so they walked to another line that was waiting in front of a group of four elevators. One of them dinged open. Staff members counted and guided a group into the elevator, staying with them as the door closed. Crow and Ethan waited for a couple more groups to be escorted before it was their turn.

By then, Crow’s anxiety was starting to bubble up. He absent-mindedly played with the brim of his LA Dodgers cap, tucked low on his head. He was trying to listen to the staff member in the elevator with them. She was a bright eyed college student who was rattling off facts like she was practicing for a final. All Crow heard was ‘tallest’ before he tuned her out. There was a screen on the elevator that showed them how high the elevator was climbing, compared to other well-known landmarks.

And we’re now higher than the Statue of Liberty.

Great.

Ethan must have sensed Crow’s rising tension. That was something Crow noticed about Ethan; he was very intuitive to the emotions around him. He could read a room like he was reading a medical chart. Quick, efficient, and knew exactly what to do.

Ethan let go of Crow’s hand and wrapped his arm around Crow’s lower back. He pulled him in and kissed the side of his head. He didn’t do that often, but the few times he had, Crow would instantly melt. No more worries. No more fears. Heights? Pft, Crow could climb Mount Everest. Ethan’s kiss had the power to make him feel invincible.

And just in time, too. The elevator, after climbing for what felt like minutes, came to a smooth stop at the top, opening up to another lobby of sorts. Another staff member, wearing a bright purple shirt, came to greet the group and take them over to the glass box. There were a few glass viewing areas, and they were all occupied by smiling couples and giggling teens snapping selfies. Crow, meanwhile, was trying to not look out the windows. The feeling of invincibility from Ethan’s kiss wasn’t permanent, that was for sure.

“You ready?” Ethan asked as a couple stepped out of the glass box, both looking wide-eyed and giggly. Crow looked to Ethan, finding strength in that blue gaze. How could anything go wrong when Ethan was smiling like that? His eyes crinkled at the edges and seemed to glow like stars. Nothing could go wrong. Crow took a deep breath and nodded.

“Come on,” Ethan said, twining his fingers through Crow’s. He had slightly smaller hands than Crow, his fingers a little finer. A perfect fit. Crow jokingly called them surgeon fingers before Ethan told him that was actually a thing. Ethan’s hand also felt incredibly comforting, surgeon fingers and all. They walked toward the box, Crow already seeing way past the city of Chicago on the horizon. That had been one of the facts. They were so high up that they could see the three neighboring states; Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan. He remembered that one.

It’s ok. I’m fine.

He kept his eyes peeled straight as they entered the glass box. He heard Ethan give an excited ‘whoa’ as he looked down, which Crow was certain he wasn’t going to do. He knew that the moment he looked down, his fear of heights would hit him with a brick to the gut. He looked straight ahead, controlling his breathing, holding Ethan’s hand a little tighter than he normally did.

“Look down, baby, it’s fine.”

“Please don’t call me baby, it creeps me out,” Crow said in a spurt of fear filled honesty. “Sorry. I mean, you can call me donut hole and it’s totally fine. I just can’t look down.”

Ethan laughed, squeezing Crow’s hand. “Ok, donut hole. I won’t make you look down, but I promise you, it’s ok. It feels like I’m looking down at an anthill. I can see people getting into taxies, and cars clogging the streets, people walking with their dogs. But they’re all so small. Like toys.”

“See, you’re painting a perfectly clear picture. No need to look down.”

“I think you should.”

“Nope.” Crow could feel his knees locking as his body tensed. He wasn’t going to look down. Looking straight ahead was hard enough. Ethan’s presence could only be so calming before actual paranoias started taking over. This was something Crow had to overcome himself, even if Ethan was being an immense help. Crow took another deep breath.

“Speaking of toys, can we just go back to the toy museum? That place was fun.” Crow sighed. “And on the ground.”

Ethan chuckled next to Crow. “It had its own appeal, that’s for sure. Although the only thing I can really remember from then was that kiss.”

Crow’s pulse quickened, but it wasn’t from fear this time. Ethan bringing up any kind of kissing had that affect on Crow. It was strong enough to momentarily push the fear away. “That kiss was nice. The ones that followed were better, though,” Crow said.

“You know what would be even better?”

“What?” Crow asked, peeling his eyes off of the cloudless horizon and looking into Ethan’s eyes, tunneling in.

“A kiss on top of the world.” Ethan smirked before he leaned in, grabbing Crow by the lower back and pulling him in for a surprise kiss that swept Crow off his feet. It was so passionate and powerful, Crow momentarily forgot that there was still a crowd of people waiting to enter one of the glass boxes. Nor did he remember anything about his fear of heights or his determination to not look down. He forgot it all.

They broke apart, leaving Crow slightly flushed. He straightened his back and tried to tamp the smile down. He grabbed Ethan’s hand again and said, “I’m doing it. I’m looking down.”

Ethan’s eyes opened wide. Crow moved his gaze from those blue orbs, down to Ethan’s chest, his jeans, his navy Converse, and then down, through the glass floor they were standing on.

It was mesmerizing. Crow felt a rush of fear and excitement and awe flow through him. It was simultaneous and instant. And then the fear was gone. Completely and totally. He was looking down through the thick glass with childlike fascination, feeling safe with Ethan’s hand on his back (along with the immense testing he had presumed was done on the glass balcony by award winning scientists… and if they didn’t have awards, they damn well should). He could see what Ethan had described. It looked like a technologically blessed ant farm was sprawling underneath him. Everyone walked around, seemingly so small and inconsequential and yet Crow knew that was far from the case. Every tiny person below them had something going on; something to worry about, something to be happy about, something to cry about. If he looked further out, he could see the Chicago River, slithering like a dark blue snake around the tall anthills.

“Do you guys want a photo of the two of you?”

“Yes, that’d be great,” Ethan responded, handing over his phone to the upbeat tourist, her hair pulled through her Las Vegas emblazoned cap in a ponytail. Crow went to stand up but it seemed like Ethan had different plans. He tugged on Crow’s hand and pulled him down so that they could sit. This was infinitely more trying on the ‘fear of heights’ thing, but Crow was able to handle it. He sat cross-legged and smiled for the camera, a hand placed on Ethan’s knee.

With the photo snapped, they both stood. Crow looked at the photo while Ethan shielded the screen from the sun.

“We look good! Send it to me,” Crow said, admiring how bright Ethan’s smile was in the photo. It was also one of the first photos they had together, and Crow was going to be sure to hold on to it. He didn’t even look nearly as scared as he thought he would. Both of their smiles were wide and their eyes beaming. Knees were touching and hands holding as the entire city opened up underneath them, while the rest of the world stretched out behind and below them.

Crow’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, answering it as they stepped out of the glass box, a pair of young twins running past them to take their spot, not a fear in the world.

“Hey, Red!”