[I can offer parts to you occasionally in the morning if they're short]

[Rich's Confession]

Rich scooted forward to the edge of Jake's truck, shooting a glance towards him before looking out over the hillside of Middle Borough. It was a small town and looked even smaller at night. It's lights would shine a bit, signifying just how small it was compared to it's vast landscape that surrounded such a town. Rich liked it this way. It made him feel big. Especially as he and Jake were looking over the town currently perceiving it to be even smaller than it really was. And feeling big wasn't something he could physically feel most of the time.

Of course, that's why Rich and Jake usually came up here, to feel bigger than the sum of themselves.

However, in this particular moment, Rich had never felt smaller in his entire life. He knew what he wanted to do, what he wanted to ask, the problem was- how?

Rich began kicking his legs in contemplation, grinding his teeth in a nervous manor and keeping his eyes trained on his feet- taking absolutely no notice to Jake- and the way he was scooting closer- and the way he was smiling- and how happy he looked...how dreamy those eyes were and-

Rich let out an audible sneeze to clear his mind. He had meant to cough but a sneeze came out instead- and Rich's squeaks were adorable.

Or so some say~

It was like a combination of a kitten sneeze and a baby sneeze.

This caught Jake's attention, to Rich's horror.

Jake couldn't suppress a chuckle, shooting a look of joy at Rich, "That was literally the cutest thing..."

Rich's face turned a bright shade of red as he let out a small squeak, "ShUT uP." Rich's voice cracked as he slugged Jake in the arm.

Jake rubbed the 'wounded' spot on his arm, "Aw come on?" He elbowed Rich in the side as the shorter boy folded his arms, "Chill little dude."

Rich let out a sigh and pressed his knees up to his chest, resting his head on the kneecaps.

Jake frowned, putting his hand on Rich's back, "What's wrong man?"

Rich saw his opportunity but felt his lips lock together, his tongue staying in place. However, he wasn't passing this up, he was able to let out an actual cough and not a sneeze this time, "I uh- I um- I-" Rich took in a deep breath, "How do you know you love someone?" Rich forced himself to meet Jake's eyes, reflecting the same kind of confusion that he felt in his heart.

"Oh...well..." Jake thought for a moment, looking away from Rich, "Well...Love is when...you're willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for someone...when you see them it's like- there's this sort of feeling reserved just for them that you can feel in your gut and...everything about them is so wonderful...always...and there's like this barrier around them that makes it so they just...they can never do pure wrong in your eyes...they're them and...they're them..." Jake looked over to see Rich shaking and just then took notice of the boy's hand on his, Jake felt his face turn pink, "R-Ri-?"

"I think- I know that I love you Jake..."

Jake's eyes widened, his heart beat picking up before his expression soften, "I love you too, Richard..."