The stars were shining with a certain ferocity that night. The gleamed against her glasses, the sliver of a waxing crescent bringing out their true beauty. This was her favorite type of moon, the shape of parenthesis or a closed-lipped smile. Its beauty could still be admired without dimming the nearby celestial objects.
She pulled the blanket around her shoulders tighter, eyeing her companion as he peaked into the telescope before them curiously before typing in a few buttons and peering again.
"Whatcha looking at?" The words that escaped her lips were tender and quiet in an effort to keep the mellow vibe.
"Saturn." A groan floated past her lips.
"Keiji, that's the lamest thing you could be looking at. That telescope can basically look at anything. You should appreciate all the trouble I went through to borrow it and look at something cooler." The raven-haired boy before her paused, pursing his lips and turning to face her.
"Why don't you come show me how to use it then?" He quipped sarcastically, "It's been pointing at Saturn this whole time, don't you know?" The corners of his pink lips quirked up playfully. "Which means you're the one who put Saturn in the telescope." Glaring at the boy, she huffed, standing and waddling over to him from the blanket sprawled across the ground.
"Let me see that!" Pushing her way in front of him, she admired the bit of technology before her. Some teachers from her astronomy class had loaned her one of their Schmidt-Cassegrain Celestron telescopes for the night with the promise that she'd teach students how to use them at an event. Jumping at the opportunity for a stargazing night, she accepted the offer, knowing right away that she'd want to go with Keiji. The telescope before her was especially fascinating, and she was thrilled to share it with her boyfriend. After calibrating it, it would automatically locate any of the celestial objects programmed into it. Of course, she had a few personal favorites, but she mainly intended to show Akaashi the more popular ones.
"Are you cold?" His smooth voice broke through the crickets around them, a warm, comforting hand falling firmly on her shoulder, rubbing loving circles.
"A little. Could you grab more blankets from the car while I'm finding something to show you?" When she poked her head up to see his response, she was met with a sweet smile and fond eyes seeking hers.
"Yeah. I'll be back." As his hand fell from her body, she reached out with her free one, gripping his fingertips right before he disappeared from view. He looked down at her expectantly.
"I love you." The expression he wore before melted like chocolate into a raw emotion she couldn't name. It felt warm and safe, like stepping into a hot bathtub, or the initial feel of the sun on a bright day. Although he whispered the words back, she mostly felt his love in the way he squeezed her hand or the way he brought hot chocolate back with the blankets.
"Did you find anything?" Upon his return, he draped another blanket over her back, placing her hot chocolate thermos onto the ground below her. Long fingers lingered on her arms, looming over to observe her actions as she fiddled with the telescope.
"Yeah, would you like to see?" A simple nod affirmed his answer, and she stepped aside to let him look through the scope.
"What's this one?" The inquisition was expected, and she replied with a brief answer.
"That one's called the Ring Nebula. Kind of cool, isn't it? It's located in the constellation Lyra and is considered a Messier Object since Charles Messier found it first and included it in his star catalog." Akaashi hummed in response to her brief rundown, admiring the celestial object a few moments longer before pulling his head away. The soft breeze mussed his dark locks, the starlight glowing against his blue eyes and she couldn't help but swoon at his being, the way he held himself, and the way he looked at her.
"It's beautiful."
"Isn't it?" Her cheeks swelled at his comment. Akaashi always did a marvelous job of humoring her, especially when it was something as important to her as this. "Thank you for coming with me." She mumbled, stepping forward to begin searching for the next sky feature for him to view.
"Anytime." There was a quiet comfort to be found in his short, straight-to-the-point responses. She could always depend on him to be candid with her, and he had a tendency to fill the silence with meaningful moments she would never forget.
"So, if you don't mind, I'll show you Betelgeuse next? It's not too interesting to look at, but the idea of it is pretty cool." The boy graced her with a simple nod. She could feel how close he was to her, his breath billowing against the back of her neck as she worked. Gloved hands slipped around her waist, pulling her against his chest and rocking back and forth until she was ready to show him her next star.
