"I spend a solid portion of my time swinging from skyscrapers." He's holding onto Asher. 

"I won't drop you."

Is that subtext? It might be subtext.

"I know you won't." 

There's definitely subtext. 

And they're up high enough and Asher says, "look."

At night, New York City shines. The roads are straight golden lines and between them buildings shine in the night like stars. 

"Oh," he says, awestruck. 

He's seen the city at night before — he's even seen it from high up — but usually it's a fast-paced blur, it isn't like — 

"Whenever I have a bad day, I fly up and look at New York City at night."

It is obviously something that is very, very important to him. 

"It's beautiful." 

He'd never really understood what people meant when they talked about things being sacred, before. He thinks he might understand now. 

"We made it. Lots of things are naturally beautiful, and that's good, but... New York City is beautiful on accident and because of us."

"I've never been this high up before.

Thank you. For showing it to me." 

"Thank you for being someone I can show it to."

He does not say you can call me Sasha. 

He holds Asher tighter. 

"Some people like freefall," he comments after a while.

"I trust you." 

Asher drops him. 

He knows Asher is not going to let him fall — but with the city rushing towards him and the air cold around him it's — 

And he's scooped up in Asher's arms and Asher's mask retracts and he's grinning. 

Their faces are very close.

He wraps his arms around Asher's neck and —

— he's fifteen and Asher doesn't know it and — 

— holds on tight. 

"Thank you," he gasps, "thank you —" 

"I'll catch you," he says. "I promise."

"I know you will," he whispers. "I trust you." 

"Want to do it again?"

"Yes." 

Asher is not really one for 'consistent sleep schedules' or 'not staying up late at night' so Sasha is going to have to be the one who stops this.

It takes what feels like hours for how tired he is to outweigh the beauty of flying and the adrenaline rush of falling and that perfect safety of being caught.

"We should probably land," he says, softly. 

"All right," Asher says. "Want me to fly you closer to your home?"

It's a good idea, but he doesn't want to tell Asher where he lives — and his parents think he's at a classmate's house — he could stay on Asher's couch but that runs a risk of Asher seeing him without the mask — 

"Can I stay on your couch, actually? I told my housemates I was going to be out all night and it'd be weird to be there in the morning."