Robocar poli stuff because yes

~Bright Little Star~

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Poli and Roy both sat together, under the bright stars. The full moon hung in the sky like a beautifully polished coin. Each star burned like a million tiny little suns. Roy now understood why Poli loved the stars so much. They were indeed beautiful. Each an every one of them.

Though neither truly knew how they had gotten to this very point, they didn't complain. Rather they stared at the sky for a few long, long moments. There wasn't much needed to be spoken.

In spite of that, Poli spoke; softly. "Do you see that big bright one straight ahead?" He asked Roy, though he had yet to shift his gaze from the star.

"I do."

Poli smiled. "It's the North Star. I always seem to come back to it when I'm lost. It's kind of like...nature's compass almost." His hand went up, and his finger adjusted out to point at the sky. "Do you know where the Big and Little dippers are?"

Roy shook his head. "I've never been too big on astrology. Though I wouldn't mind if you showed me." He smiled, too.

"Well, look towards Polaris." He said. Then he moved his arm to the side. "From there, neither dipper is far. See those stars that make sort of a boxish shape? The first one you usually find is the Big Dipper—or at least for me. Then you go back to Polaris. The Northern Star should be the very end of the Little Dippers Handle." Poli explained, trying to make it sound as simple as it was.

"I found the Little Dipper!" Roy exclaimed with a laugh. "Hold on, let me see—ah! Never mind, I've found it." He then pointed to the Big Dipper.

Poli let out a chuckle. "Very good! Do you want to try to find Sirius? It's the brightest star in the sky. Oh! Orion might be up as well—or Leo? Aquila! That one is the bird constellation. But I also think—"

Roy waved his hands quickly to stop Poli's rant. "Hey, hey! I love that you know all of those, I really do, but let's stick to one? I have no idea what...uh...Aqua...Aquai—never mind. How about just Leo? I've heard of that one."

Poli blushed a bit. "Sorry, I get a bit carried away with this stuff...but yeah! Leo sounds just fine. Should be...oveerrrr....there!" He pointed towards the star Regulus. "Regulus is like the heart of Leo. Look a little this way and you'll eventually..."

Roy looked over at Poli, his legs held comfortably to his chest. He took a few moments to admire how passionate Poli was about all of this. He seemed to knew every last bit. Roy watched as Poli pointed here and there, in an attempt to share his own knowledge with Roy. It seemed as though when Poli talked about stars and space, his face would light up and he would talk and talk and talk...and that's what Roy liked about him. His passion.

"Are there any others you want to see?" Poli's voice broke his train of thought. "There are quite a few up right now." Poli's eyes glittered as he searched the sky. It was like a sacred code, and Poli knew exactly how to decode it.

Roy smiled at him, leaning back onto his arms. "Doesn't matter." He said simply. "You could tell me them all and I would still listen."

Poli blushed again and looked away. "Uh—how about the one I suggested earlier? Aquila? That's the bird constellation."

Roy nodded. "Sounds great, Pols."

The next few hours were spent chatting about different stars, constellations, galaxies, nebulas...Though Roy wasn't entirely paying attention, he still tried his best to remember the ones Poli seemed to like. Would it impress him to remember those?

Soon their chatter has faded into a comfortable silence. They sat again, watching the stars twinkle, and the moon slowly haul itself further and further into the sky. Somehow, just sitting beside Poli was comforting in itself.

Roy knew Poli had been stressed lately, and he was glad to see him back to his normal self. It really did make him happier. If this was what truly made Poli happy, then perhaps they should be doing this more often. Plus, Roy liked being able to hang out with his best friend.

"Roy...can I tell you something?" Poli suddenly spoke again, thought it was barely louder than a whisper.

Roy nodded, his eyes widening a bit.

"Honestly, i've always wanted to visit space. When I was younger, I was determined that I would one day. I told myself that if I did go up there, I wouldn't have a reason to return." His gaze gripped a bit as he spoke. "I...I told myself that I would go up, to space, and stay there. It wouldn't be a long life, not at all, but it would be as close to the stars as I'd ever want to be."

There was a long silence between before he spoke again. Roy's heart seemed to pound in his chest. What did he mean by this...?

"But there was soon one thing that came into my life that...showed me why I needed to stay. Why I shouldn't just go and run off into the unknown, most likely to kill myself." A small smile crept back onto his face, and his eyes sparkled.

"You. You and the rest of the team. I'd never had anyone I could consider family until I met you all. I thought my entire existence was rather...irrelevant, useless even. But you guys showed me my purpose. Why I need to push on through everything."

He sighed. "As much as I would love to see those stars, up close, I would rather stay here and see them with you guys. As selfish as I want to be with that, see it for myself, I know myself well enough to know that I couldn't. I'll never be able to accomplish my dream, touching a real...burning star...so instead I spend my time learning about my dream. It's rather senseless. But either way, I love stars. So much. But maybe one day..." he trailed off, looking back up again, then at Roy.

"Never mind. I would love a telescope though. To see a star in real time rather than through a picture. I think that would complete me." He laughed softly, raising his voice to a more playful and relaxed tone.

Roy listened quietly, occasionally nodding to let Poli know he was still listening. He was at a loss of words. He understood completely, and he wanted to say something right, but his mind was blank. For once he didn't know how to continue.

"I..." he started, fumbling to find something to say.

Poli laughed. "It's okay. You don't need to respond. I've just...always wanted to tell someone that. I don't know why. But it's my truth."

Roy nodded slowly. Finally, words came back for him. "Poli," he spoke, looking up to meet the policeman's brilliant gaze. "Tell me about the stars you truly love. Your favorites. I don't want some short little scientific definition. I want to hear how you see them. Them...the world. Those stars..."

Poli's eyes widened. Then, his stillness turned into a slow nod. "Well..." he started, composing himself once again. "You might want to get comfy 'cuz it's a lot." He said, his smile returning to his face. It was wide and genuine. As it always should be.

Roy extended his arm out, like a half hug. "Hah, okay. Come here then?" He tried to sound confident, but inside he was nervous Poli would reject him. But he didn't.

"I...uh...sure!" Poli said, blushing lightly. He leaned into Roy's side, and he felt Roy's hand cup his shoulder. I was comfortable and relieving. "Okay then, to start off, there's..."

They sat for many more long hours. They sat there until they could barely keep their own eyes open. They were both so, so grateful for each other.

(I wrote this story on tumblr!)