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Sometimes you wonder if the stars get lonely up there, watching over the darkness from their brilliant thrones in the sky.
You ask Kiro one night, as the last light of the sun disappears behind the city skyline, giving way to a sparse smattering of stars. It's hard to see through the ever-present glow of the Loveland City's lights, but the two of you make a game of it, discerning the stars from the satellites, giving them each names.
"And what's this one called, Ms. Chips?"
You hear the rustling of Kiro's jacket as he lays down on the bench next to you, hair falling away from his face to reveal his eyes which shine with wonder just inches from yours. You never stop admiring the way he looks at the world like he's drinking it all in, for all its beauty in spite of its imperfections. You have a lot you can learn from him.
"That's tough," you hum with feigned contemplation, distracted from the task at hand as you tilt your head back to get a better look at him. He doesn't seem to notice, content to enjoy the cool autumn breeze as he shifts to get a little more comfortable on the bench, clearly not designed to accommodate the height of a fully grown man.
"I think I'll name it Kiro."
His gaze shifts to you curiously. You pull your knees up to your chest as you sit up, turning your full attention to him. Despite the outpouring of love he receives daily from his fans, you know the flattery sometimes makes him feel a little shy. But it's worth it for the flush that creeps up his cheeks up to the very tips of his ears, peeking out from underneath the scarf wrapped snugly around his neck. "Kiro, for the brightest star I know."
You chuckle lightly as Kiro groans and scrunches his nose, meeting your eyes with a furrowed brow. "Disqualified, you're pandering to the judge, no cheesy answers allowed!"
Your eyes widen in shock. Disqualified for that? He's a tougher judge than I thought.
"Okay, fine, I'll change my answer!"
"Sorry, Miss Chips, no exceptions." He watches as a small pout works its way onto your face, quirking an eyebrow up at you grumbling indignantly under your breath. His front doesn't last long though, and a glimpse of mirth shines in his eyes as he sits up with you.
"I believe that makes it my turn, right?" You huff with a half-hearted nod, but he dazzles you with a grin that leaves you wondering if anyone could stay upset faced with someone so bright.
He takes his time to think while the two of you sit in comfortable silence, fiddling with something in his coat pocket as the streetlight flickers on. You find yourself fascinated with the shift that takes place in him when he's focused. You've seen it a few times before, the transformation of his expression as he retreats to the recesses of his mind only to snap back into his spirited cheeriness just as quickly as he fell out of it.
"Still," he speaks, breaking the silence with the softness of his voice. "If there's a version of me somewhere out there among the stars, I hope there's one of you too."
"No cheesiness, he says. No exceptions, he says." He offers a small smile at your lighthearted complaints, but continues with a far-off look in his eyes.
"Maybe it's selfish or silly, but I don't think I want to imagine a version of myself that has to live without having known you."
You consider the thought, for a moment. You'd had a tough time after Dad passed, finishing up school and trying your best to bring the company and Miracle Finder back to prominence. It wasn't all bad. He'd left you with a dream to chase, but something was missing. You'd held onto your hope and your dream, but looking back, a certain darkness lingered over you in the days before. It wasn't heavy. It just felt… empty.
Darkness isn't an entity of its own. It's the absence of something, the absence of light. Kiro cut through that darkness. He became the brightness in your life and chased that emptiness away, renewing your hope and flooding your life with joy. A lifetime without him in it would feel empty.
In any timeline, you'd be drawn to his light.
You take in the sight of him, his mask pulled up over his chin as he adjusts the cap he'd brought along to hide his hair. A simple yet effective masquerade. He'd be impossible not to recognize otherwise, with his face plastered all over the city, lighting up billboards, cellphones, laptops. and home TVs. It strikes you once again that you're not the only one who has been drawn to him. He's a beacon in this world.
"Honestly? I think you'd be hard to miss in any lifetime."
He grins at you, but his reply is cut short as you hear the distant laughter of two passerbys, his eyes flicking over to them.
You pause, considering him. You’d both agreed that it would be best to come out at night to avoid any stray gazes and potentially chaotic run-ins with fans. You know how much he loves the people who support him, but you can’t help but notice the way his eyes shift nervously at passing strangers who glance your way. He’s always seemed so open, but these brief moments of guardedness clue you in to the man that lies underneath his persona. You wonder if that man ever feels alone.
You don’t have the courage to ask directly.
"Do you think the stars ever get lonely?”
His focus shifts back to you, gaze softening as he meets your curious stare. “In this magical imaginary world where even big burning balls of gas have thoughts and feelings? Sure, why?”
"I don't know, it's just…" You trail off, remembering the distant look in his eyes from earlier. "From far away they all seem to paint one pretty picture, but the space between them is greater than any of us can fathom. There are countless other stars in their sight, yet they all stay resolutely out of reach.
"Well," he hums, leaning back to get more comfortable, "it would probably actually be pretty catastrophic for any two stars to get too close."
"No way! Then how do you explain the binary sunset in Star Wars?"
His eyes twinkle with amusement. "You do know those are just movies right?"
"It's a thing! I read an article about it!" You scramble to pull your phone from your jacket pocket, leaning closer to give him a better view of the screen. "See?"
It takes a bit of digging, ignoring Kiro's amused chuckle each time you make a particularly bad typo. But you find it, pushing the phone toward him with a triumphant grin. You cross your arms in expectation.
"Okay, okay, you win," he sighs, handing your phone back to you with a defeated pout that you can't help but find endearing. "I'll defer to you for all my space related questions from now on."
"What's my prize for being right?"
He perks up at that, and you watch with interest as he fumbles around his pockets in search of something, turning away from you slightly to hide it from your gaze.
"Actually… there is something I wanted to give you. It's, um, a little embarrassing. Close your eyes, please." You begrudgingly comply, but not without taking one last peek at the slight flush that has risen up his neck. He's nervous.
"This is top secret by the way, please don't tell Savin." You can feel the roughness of foil as he presses something into your palm. When you finally open your eyes, Kiro takes your other hand in his and steps back a bit, as if anticipating your reaction.
In your hand rests what seems to be some sort of chocolate egg. The way it's wrapped up in its foil seems a bit sloppy, giving you the impression that whoever made it was probably an amateur. By the sheepishness of Kiro's gaze, it seems that this is something he made himself.
You consider its weightiness in your grip. It rattles a bit as you gently shake it close to your ear.
So it's hollow then?
"Try opening it."
You gently unwrap the foil. Etched into the surface of the egg are a smattering of stars, imperfect, but special. It's a bit of a messy affair. It pains you to see bits of the chocolate shell tumble onto the concrete, the remnants of Kiro's handiwork.
Inside sits a piece of paper, folded carefully into the shape of a star as well. It's littered with chocolate smudges, but pretty all the same. A small sketch peeks out from a creased edge, and Kiro watches expectantly as you unfold the paper star to reveal an entire page filled with little doodles, colorful and cute and just so Kiro .
"Isn't this a bit of a choking hazard?"
You watch as he slides his hand up the back of his neck, gaze turning sheepish. "I didn't think about that…"
"I'm just messing with you."
A small smile inches its way a little wider as you brush your fingers over a messy sketch of the pack of chips which had brought you two together, of a bowl of pudding from Souvenir, of the cotton candy from the day he invited you along to Project X, and an adorable little chibi rendering of a bear holding up a balloon, stars littering the space between them all. A little time capsule of your first experiences together, and in small neat handwriting which contrasts the charming messiness of his drawings, a message.
This is a voucher for a lifetime of experiences with Kiro. With this package, you're guaranteed to never have a dull or lonely day. Expiration: Never.
You didn't realize how hard you'd been smiling until your cheeks started to ache. "Kiro, you made this?"
"That's a possibility," he tells you with a grin to match your own, clearly proud of his handiwork. "It took me a while to make the egg though, the instructions for the mold weren't clear and I had to use chocolate from my super secret stash to make it."
His secret stash?
"I thought you told me your stash was your most prized possession?" You felt another wave of guilt at the sight of the pieces that had crumbled and fallen as you unwrapped it.
Kiro, on the other hand, seemed entirely unbothered. "Yeah, well, I happen to know a person who's a whole lot more precious to me than a couple of sweets."
It's strange, but you can't help but shy away from his gaze then. Maybe if you stuff your face with chocolate he'll let up and give you the chance to recover from your flustered state.
Luckily, he's merciful. He sits up straight all of a sudden, straightening the strings of his hoodie as a businessman might fix his tie. You know before he even speaks that he's up to something.
"You know what?" He asks you with feigned contemplation, before clapping his hands together excitedly. "I'll cut you a deal. Keep me around and my whole stash is yours."
He sticks his hand out to you, waiting for you to shake and close the deal. You're surprised at how serious he looks about this. That is, until his composure finally cracks, shooting you the goofiest, most exaggerated grin you've seen from him all day.
"Oh my god... Are you bribing me with chocolate?"
"Depends, is it working? Or should I turn on the charm?" He wiggles his eyebrows at you, like a character straight out of a cartoon, and you have to bite back the laugh that bubbles up at the sight.
"You don't need to bribe me to keep me around. I wasn't planning on going anywhere." Still, you take his outstretched hand, shaking it resolutely. "You're stuck with me."
"Am I? I must be a lucky guy."
He reaches for your other hand as well, squeezing them gently before threading his fingers through yours. You sit like that for a while, turning your attention back to the night sky as a comfortable silence settles over you.
Nights like this don't feel like night at all. Not when the brightest light sits right beside you, cutting so brilliantly through the dark.