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Corpse ran for his life. Well, maybe not exactly for life, because he was sure the policeman who was chasing him didn't want to kill him, but he still didn't want to get caught. If he didn’t escape, he will get into trouble and have to pay a fine for that graffiti, which he was drawing when the cop saw him.
He jumped over a small stone ball and then over another little bigger one. Who was putting stone orbs on this lawn? Was there some weird art gallery? Corpse decided he could think about it later. He turned around the corner of the building, briefly spotting more round stones when he finally recognized where he was. The building towards which he was running was a local planetarium, which explained why he had to jump over weird sculptures - they were planets. He decided to try his luck and ran inside to hide.
Corpse was here a few years ago with school, so he still roughly remembered what it looked like inside and went straight to the toilets, locking the door behind him. He threw a half empty paint spray can out of the window in a hurry to get rid of the evidence and washed his hands quickly. One hasty look in the mirror told him that anyone who would see him right now would still recognize something was wrong. His eyeliner was everywhere but where it was supposed to be, and his cheeks half covered by black mask were bright red. His usual look wasn't too much better, so he let it go. He took a few deep breaths and casually walked out like he was there just to pee before seeing some cosmic science stuff.
The cop was not here, which was a good sign, but he wanted to make sure it was safe to go outside. He went down the hall to spend some time here before he would eventually leave. After a few steps, he noticed a smaller man on his phone talking with someone, visibly upset but mostly sad. He was walking around nervously, one hand in his brown fluffy hair which he constantly adjusted.
“It was a bad idea, Rae, I told you. It's more than thirty minutes now, and he still hasn't arrived... Or he arrived, saw me and r-ran away instead. I feel so stupid... I am going home.” He didn't want to eavesdrop, but it was impossible to not hear what he was saying to the person on the phone. He sounded so sad, heartbroken. Corpse tried to have a better look at him without making it obvious he was staring.
“No, I can't contact him, it's a blind date, I told you… No I don't know anything, Toast just told me to be there at this time and wait for his friend who is interested. He was probably joking anyway, and they are having a good laugh about it. I mean, nobody is interested in S-Sykkuno, what I was even thinking.” Oh, that sounded horrible. Corpse understands how bad he was feeling, he was also rejected in the past; in his case, because of his not so typical look and voice. People could be so insensitive sometimes… but this man clearly didn’t deserve such treatment. He was pretty, his voice was so soft, and the way he was fixing his hair every few seconds was just adorable. Corpse couldn’t see why somebody would want to not date him. And at that moment he got a crazy idea.
“Hey... uh, sorry, Sykkuno?” Corpse only hoped he catched that name correctly; because if not, things would get very awkward very quickly. But judging from the way the face of the other man lights up when he hears the name, he was right.
“Um, I'll call you later, Rae.” He ended his call immediately, not even waiting for response, staring at Corpse, a little unsure. Corpse made a few steps closer, so he didn't need to talk that loud and also to get a better look at him. He was really cute, a little smaller than him, playing with the drawstring of his light green hoodie and running his eyes over Corpse's face. He didn't look disappointed, so Corpse decided to risk it and went for it.
“I am really sorry I am late. I- uh, there was an accident on my way here, and the police needed my testimony.” Half truths were always the best lies. Not that he really needed help with lying, he was good at it even if he had to make a completely new story. But since he started this with the biggest lie, he felt like he didn't want to lie more than necessary to him.
“No that's okay, I mean it's not your fault. S-so, are you okay?” he blushed as he stammered. How could someone leave this cute anime looking boy there waiting? He didn't know him, but by what he could see he was pure adorableness; he absolutely loved the way he was now avoiding eye contact probably because he didn't want to blush even more. At least he hoped this was the reason, not his raspy voice and weird face.
“Yeah, nothing happened… Can I, um, buy you a ticket to the planetarium as an apology? And you can choose what you want to see first.” Corpse smiled a little, focusing on breathing regularly to not freak out, when Sykkuno looked at him again. Was he really doing this? It was weird, he admitted it; but he couldn’t help himself. He just refused to leave this man here, sad and alone. Nobody should feel like this.
“That's nice of you, b-but I can buy it myself. You really don't need to, hm, I-...” Sykkuno covered his mouth by hand, looking like he wanted to be anywhere else right now. “Oh Jesus, I am awkward. Sorry.” Corpse let out a quiet chuckle. He had a feeling he would enjoy this date a lot.
“Don't be sorry, I think you are, um, cute.” Great, now they were both blushing, Corpse was sure. And suddenly, he became more nervous. What if this boy was just afraid of him, and that's the real reason why he is acting like this? He didn't really think about what he was doing, did he? He just walked in and started complimenting him, even though he was ‘late’, looking like a hot mess from running here. Fuck, he needed to slow down. “So, ehem, we can go, unless you didn't want to…? It's okay if you don't.” He whispered uncertainly, hoping he didn't scare him with his previous actions. Maybe he should sometimes think before he does something.
“No! I want to, I am just, you know, nervous. I mean, I don’t even know your name, so…” Corpse wanted to slap himself how stupid he was. Really good first impression, didn't even introduce himself; nice job, Corpse.
"Shit, I am stupid, sorry. I go by Corpse.” Sykkuno raised his eyebrows as Corpse expected. Everyone had this kind of reaction when they learned his preferred name. Sometimes even earlier, when they heard him speak for the first time. Everything about him was anything but normal, but he liked it that way.
“Oh, that, uhm, suits you…” Sykkuno glanced at his chains, silver rings and stopped at his black face mask, when his eyes widened in realization of what he said. “I-I don't mean that uh, like in a bad way, it's just… y-you… Can we go?” Sykkuno was now hiding his face again, with hands tucked in sleeves of his hoodie. Corpse was smiling again, carefully grabbed one of his hands and pushed it away. Sykkuno’s hazel eyes followed his hand, which Corpse still gently held, before he looked at his face again. He slowly released his hand, so he didn't make Sykkuno uncomfortable and cleared his throat.
“Of course.” They walked together to a small desk, and Corpse paid for two tickets for the full tour, deaf to Sykkuno’s protests. The tour started at the roof with a big telescope. They couldn’t look at the sky through it now; it was sunny and would hurt their eyes, but they still got a nice lecture from an old man working here about how it works. Sykkuno was really interested in what he was saying about sky and stars while Corpse was more focused on the sound of Sykkuno's voice. He was watching Sykkunos face, noticing how his eyes lit up when he asked some questions, and the old man who was answering them said it was a good idea, and he must be really smart. Corpse thought the same; he didn't understand half of these things the other man was saying about stars, but it was really interesting anyway. Well, at least the things he heard when he wasn't focused on how sweet Sykkuno's voice was.
After maybe half an hour they move back inside, into a big room with models of planets and projections of nebulas. They were told they had thirty minutes when they could explore on their own before they would move to another room.
Corpse started to be nervous once again, his feelings really decided to go on a rollercoaster today. His hands were sweaty, and he couldn't stop himself from tapping with his foot. When Sykkuno was busy listening to cosmic stuff it was easy, but now he had to actually talk to him and try to not say something stupid. What were you supposed to say on a first date? He was not going to ask him those dull questions like his favorite color, that's stupid. Why was he doing this again?
He looked at Sykkuno, who was just investigating stars in front of him; leaning forward, his brows furrowed as he was trying to understand what he was seeing. Oh yeah, that was the reason.
“Corpse?” Oh, he was staring, lost in his thoughts again and got caught. Corpse looked away, clearing his throat, hands burying in pockets.
“Yeah, sorry. I got, uh, lost in my mind.” He quickly moved his gaze to projection in front of them, trying to seem as normal as possible. “What were you saying?” He should focus on him; that was really disrespectful. He didn't do it on purpose, but still. Sykkuno seemed like a very nice boy who deserves all the attention he can get.
“I was just wondering if I can ask you some questions while we look at this exhibit. I… I would like to get to know you better.” He was honestly surprised why, but did not complain. Maybe he can make at least a good second impression. He licked his dry lips before he looked up again at him and tried to smile a little behind his mask.
“Sure, I would also like to know you more.” They began to slowly walk around, Sykkuno stopping here and there to look at something, but they were mostly still walking. Corpse was too nervous to stay still, and the smaller man seemed to notice it.
“So where do you see yourself in 5 years?” Sykkuno asked the first question after maybe two or three minutes of silence, interrupted only twice by his quiet comments about nebulas. This allowed Corpse to relax a bit.
“I don't know where I would be tomorrow, honestly. I am not good at planning the future, I live in the moment.” People didn’t like his opinions, but he didn't care. He wouldn't plan to lie to anyone just to please their ego. “What about you?”
“I would be glad if I could continue what I am doing now, only expand it in certain ways. I don't like big changes much.” Sykkuno was blushing again as he was saying it for whatever reason and began to rub the back of his neck.
“What are you doing now? Studying something?” He looked like someone who could be in university, and he was certainly smart enough for it. Corpse was neither of those.
“Oh no, it's been a few years since I was in school.” Sykkuno suddenly seemed way more interested in the model of Mars in front of them than before, avoiding eye contact.
“Years?”
“Uhm, yeah… I am 26 actually... “ Sykkuno answered without looking at him, voice unstable and somehow sad. Corpse blinked a few times, trying to not look so surprised as he was. He was expecting him to be around the same age as him, maybe even younger.
“Oh, I am 21 and actually also a few years out of school.” Maybe more than few since he dropped it so early, but he wasn't planning to tell him this now. Sykkuno definitely couldn’t handle that much disappointment about his date right now. “ I am currently trying to do youtube and stuff.”
“Really? I started streaming recently besides my part time job.” The relief in his voice was palpable, same as Corpse's own in his mind. So they were both the same internet weirdos, good. That makes a lot of things easier.
After that, conversation was way more relaxed, not as awkward as before. Both of them gained some confidence and started to talk about things they do and like without too much fear of being judged. Corpse learned about Sykkuno's hobbies, his dog Bimbus, a few friends and more. Like how cute his laugh was even he was constantly hiding it behind his hand. How he was biting his lip everytime he was looking in Corpse's eyes, or the way he was ducking his head in his hoodie to hide when he was talking about something embarrassing.
In the middle of conversation about their favorite food and restaurants, they were told to move on in the next room. Corpse was a little worried if Sykkuno was mad at him because they spent the last twenty minutes only talking, not focusing on galaxies around them at all, but he didn't say anything.
Corpse held the door for Sykkuno which made him blush once again, and they both entered a big, doomed room, almost completely dark with just small blue lights on the floor. They walked through but didn't find anything. Sykkuno gave Corpse a puzzled look and was about to say something when the doors shut. They were a few seconds in pitch dark, because the lights were too dim to actually illuminate that big space, and Corpse suddenly felt Sykkuno's hand in his own, pulling him a little closer. Corpse squeezed his hand to comfort him; he was sure there was no danger, they were probably just having some technical issues. He was not going to find out, he liked the feeling of Sykkuno’s warm hand, the way Sykkuno was leaning closer to him like he was sure Corpse would protect him.
Then, the ceiling lit up with thousands of stars, all around them like they were standing in the middle of the universe, alone, watching shooting stars. It was magical. Corpse looked away after maybe a minute of staring in silence and looked at Sykkuno. His head was tilted back, mouth slightly open and eyes widened, fixed on the ceiling. The stars were reflecting in his eyes, and Corpse felt his stomach drop at how beautiful Sykkuno looked right now. His mouth suddenly felt dry, and his hands began to shake.
Sykkuno noticed it, probably, or he just felt his gaze on him. He raised their connected hands and pointed at the cluster of stars above them.
“Do you see that ‘M’? That's the Cassiopeia constellation. Some people also call it a constellation of love.” He looked down again at Corpse's masked face. “My favourite.” He whispered, hypnotizing his eyes.
“Where exactly?” His voice sounded like crackling embers right now, but he didn't really care. His mind was focused only on the feeling of Sykkuno's body pressed closer to him, his head next to Corpse's face so he could see exactly where he was looking. Sykkuno grabbed Corpse's chin gently, moved it little to the left and then pointed at the sky again.
“Here.” He could feel his breath on his mask with how close he was. A small wave of heat flushed all over his body, ending in his stomach leaving butterflies there. He caught himself rubbing the place when Sykkuno's finger touched his chin. Sykkuno turned to face him, slowly reaching for his chin again. He brushed his fingers softly over his mask, leaving them there. Corpse forget how to breathe.
“C-can I?” Corpse was nodding before he properly thought about it. He reached with his free arm for Sykkuno's waist, only softly touching him, allowing him to pull back if he didn't like it.
Sykkuno removed his mask in a hurry with hands shaking just as Corpse's own was. He swallowed and smiled a little as he saw Corpse's face, then shyly closed his eyes which was everything Corpse needed as a permission.
He closed the gap between them, pressed their chests together, resting his palm at his back, the other one still holding Sykkuno's hand. At first it wasn't really a kiss, lips touching lightly like butterfly wings. After a few seconds of nervousness, Sykkuno moved his fingers from Corpse's chin to cup his cheek and lean more into the kiss. Corpse exhaled with relief, tilting his head slightly to the left so he could kiss him properly, tasting his lips more. He felt dizzy, almost like he was really floating in space, lost, and the only real thing was Sykkuno's warm hand and his lips. He liked the feeling very much.
They broke the kiss after a while to breathe a bit, still holding each other, refusing to let the other man go. Sykkuno looked up at him, blinking, looking like he did not believe what just happened. Corpse smiled at him; he couldn’t help himself with how happy he was feeling right now.
“You have stars in your eyes.” Sykkuno mumbled, still without breath, fascination in his words.
Corpse didn't say anything. He just leaned closer and kissed him again.