riktael To Me is about the slowburn that is so slow you don't realize it is burning. like. affection that builds so innocuously that they don't recognize romance is the form it's taken until it's reached its peak. a bowl sitting under a leak gathering rain water that begins to overflow, reminding you that there was a leak in the ceiling at all. very human and not at all cosmic but all the more beautiful for it

i think it all boils down to like. ricky and taerae falling in love is the sort of thing that they don't realize is happening until it's happened and one day they're picking through ricky's closet trying to find a shirt he swears he owns and taerae is laying back on his elbows on the bed watching him and he cracks some joke about ricky being a hoarder and ricky turns to shoot taerae this unimpressed glare except he's smiling so it doesn't land and taerae is reminded of how achingly sincere ricky is with him, always is, and how easy it is to be in return and he's like. oh, wait. i love him. and it doesn't change anything really because ricky has always been so beautiful and sweet and willing to care for taerae in a way he'd never thought to ask for especially not from someone younger. but also he just kind of realizes that it's not that he can't live without ricky anymore, he just doesn't Want to. and he kind of wants to kiss him stupid.

You Know (gestures) two guys who are each other's smile and laugh buttons