Big Bend (g/t)

Stargazing

Angie

"I was kind of surprised you invited Easton," I said as Dave and I walked towards my room. "I mean, I think it was nice of you."

"Oh, yeah, I didn't want him to feel left out," Dave said with a shrug.

"Also surprised to hear you say that," I admitted.

"What does that mean?" Dave asked. I unlocked the door to my room, shooting him a raised eyebrow meant to ask,
Seriously?

"I didn't think you really liked Easton, that's all," I said. That was maybe an understatement, from what I had seen so far. Dave seemed to go out of his way avoid Easton whenever possible. I had yet to figure out why exactly that was. I'd thought at first Dave might have just needed time to get used to Easton being around. As more time passed, though, I wondered if something else was going on. The closest I'd come to figuring it out was when I tried talking to him after the bonfire, and I'd gotten little more than that Dave wasn't exactly Easton's biggest fan.

"I mean, I don't hate him or something," Dave said. I pushed open my door. The two of us headed inside.

"I didn't say I thought you hated him. Just said I didn't think you liked him that much." I sat down in my bed.

Dave shrugged. "Well, I just thought It'd be nice to include him. That's all."

"Alright," I said. I decided to drop it, sensing that conversation was going nowhere.  "Well, it's supposed to be a really clear night out tonight. The perfect night for stargazing."

A short while later, we stood outside Easton's place. I pressed the button for the elevator, once again marveling at the architectural wonder that the "tiny" home seemed to be. It was set in a canyon near the ranger station so as not to be too much of an eyesore on the landscape, which was dropped a good choice, given that it's height rivaled some skyscrapers. Then again, so did Easton's. I glanced over at Dave, trying to scan my coworker's face for any signs of apprehension. I didn't have long to do so, as a soft ding told us the elevator was there.

The elevator came to a halt. The doors slid open to reveal Easton sitting at his desk in front of us. John was nowhere in sight, for once. I realized it felt a little strange to see Easton without John. It dawned on me that this was probably the first time for that.

"Hey!" I said brightly.

"Hey," Easton said, returning the greeting.

"So, you ready?" Dave asked.

"Yeah. Where exactly are we going?" Easton asked.

"There's this really pretty hill nearby. We usually drive - we were thinking you could follow us," I said. "Or carry us, whichever works best."

I glanced over towards Dave, seeing him stiffen immediately. I winced internally. Maybe I shouldn't have added that suggestion.

"Um, whatever you guys are comfortable with," Easton said, sounding uncertain as he also looked over at Dave. Apparently sensing the attention on him, Dave straightened up. He shook his head.

"Yeah, Easton could carry us," Dave said. "If that's fine with him."

I had to fight to keep the surprise off my face for the second time that day.

Maybe Dave didn't actually dislike Easton, I thought.

Maybe it was just taking him a bit longer to get used to the giant being around.

"Yeah, totally. I mean, are you sure?" Easton asked. He sounded just as - if not more - surprised as I was at Dave's response.

"Yeah. It'll probably be quicker," Dave said.

"Well, if you're sure. I really don't mind following you guys," Easton said. Dave hesitated for the briefest second, then shook his head.

"I'm sure," Dave said.

"Okay. Well, I guess you've probably both heard the usual spiel. I'll let you climb on, I won't move until you're ready, please stay in the center of my palm," Easton said.

"A few times," I  said with a laugh, thinking about how many tourists I'd heard Easton say that to each day. Easton delicately lowered his hand to the table, palm up. I didn't feel nearly as apprehensive this time as the first time Easton had picked me, Penelope, and John up. I still remembered the anxiety that had been coursing through her that day, though. I looked over at Dave.

"Let's do this then," Dave said. It seemed like he had fully committed to the plan, despite the tremor in his voice.

I really don't get him sometimes, I thought, turning back to Easton.

I climbed onto his hand with little effort, once again marveling at how odd it felt to be sitting literally in the palm of someone else's hand. Easton looked down at me, giving me a soft smile. I  returned it. Dave was still standing on the desk. He now looked even more unsure.

"We can still take the car," I offered. Dave shook his head resolutely.

"I won't drop you," Easton said reassuringly.

"Promise?" Dave asked.

"Promise."

Dave took a deep breath, then climbed up onto Easton's hand.

"You good?" I asked after a moment. Dave looked over at me, tearing his gaze away from Easton's fingers.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good," Dave said. He looked up, craning his neck back to meet Easton's gaze. "We're ready."

"Okay. I'm going to cup my hand and move you closer to me, it's more secure, if that's okay?" Easton said.

"Yea," I said.

"Yeah," Dave echoed my response. I still heard him inhale sharply as Easton's fingers rose up around us slightly.

"You guys both good?" Easton asked. We replied we were, again, and he told them he would stand up next, and to let him know if he was moving too fast. That was something I greatly appreciated about the giant - while his size might have been intimidating, he at least seemed aware of it and willing to do whatever he could to put the humans around him at ease.

When we stepped out into the night - or more, Easton did - we were greeted by the still, warm desert air. Crickets chirping split the otherwise silent night as we headed up towards the hill. Dave was still sitting in the center of Easton's hand, borderline frozen, though I saw color slowly returning to his face as we walked. By the time they reached the hill, he had also shifted where he was sitting, and even made a comment about how nice the weather was that night.

"Well, this is it,"  I said as we reached the top of hill. "You can sit down wherever, there's nothing around here."

Despite my words, he still glanced around before slowly taking a seat, and then equally slowly lowering his hand to the ground.

"Thanks," I said, climbing off.

"Yeah, thank you," Dave said, following shortly after me and hopping onto the ground.

"Of course," Easton said. I looked up at the stars - the galaxies swirling above them, the light echoing from ancient times.

"Wow," I said softly. "We picked the perfect night for this."

Dave followed my gaze, his eyes widening when he saw the stars.

"No shit," he said. "It's gorgeous."

"It looks magical," Easton said, a sort of awed reverence in his voice. I looked back at the giant, who was still staring up at the night sky.

"What's the sky like in Aphiria? Is it similar?" I asked. He shook his head, still staring at the stars.

"It's different there. There's no milky way. And there's three moons, and I don't think I've ever seen this many stars," Easton said after a moment, looking down at me. 
"This is...seriously amazing."

"Welcome to Earth?" I said, half jokingly. "It really is amazing though."