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Elliott craned his neck backwards, looking up at the twinkling sky above his head. The skies over Kings Canyon were always clear, making it an optimal spot for some stargazing. However, tonight was different, with a small crowd having gathered, including some of his fellow Legends. The stars above seemed to shine brighter than usual, as if they too were buzzing with excitement for the incoming meteor shower. Elliott had felt a similar buzz, but it wasn't in anticipation for this event; it was because a certain someone had decided to sit down next to him.
Elliott hadn't noticed Octavio approaching him. He didn't think this type of event would even interest the runner. He'd been lying back against the grass, using his phone to try and take a nice photograph of the night sky to send to his mom, when he heard someone plop themselves down next to him. Elliott didn't pay too much attention at first, assuming it was Ramya who had joined him, only looking up when they remained quiet. He immediately pushed himself into a sitting position when he realised his mistake.
"Hey!" he greeted, mentally scolding himself for sounding so eager. "I wasn't...expecting to see you here."
It wasn’t exactly a fair assumption for him to make. The truth was, he didn’t know Octavio on a personal level all that well. He was fun to be on a team with during the Games, but any time they’d spent together outside of the arena was limited to group hangouts with the other Legends. Still, Elliott felt somewhat drawn to him and would enjoy having an opportunity to get to know him better. Sometimes he felt like he might have a little bit of a crush on the daredevil, but his mind had been such a mess lately trying to figure everything out, he wasn’t certain if this was the case or if he just thought Octavio was really cool; he’d never really had the chance to find out.
Octavio merely shrugged, leaning back slightly, using his hands to support himself.
"Eh, Che told me to meet her here. Thought it would be cool to see it. You don't see a lot of stuff like this on Psamathe. Too many lights from the cities."
Elliott hadn't really considered that, suddenly finding himself grateful for Solace's more barren areas outside of the city.
“We used to sit in our backyard sometimes as kids,” Elliott began to explain, deciding making an attempt at conversation was the best way to keep the runner here. “My mom would point out the concepla-concre-...erm, y’know...the shapes the stars make? And tell us stories about them.”
“Oh, yeah?” Octavio asked, seeming somewhat interested. “Got any exciting ones?”
Elliott thought about it, scanning the shimmering dots above their heads with his eyes, attempting to connect them.
“Well...you see over there?” he began, tracing out a line with his finger. “Those uh...one, two...five stars?”
“Which ones?” Octavio said, leaning forward and squinting at the sky. “Where?”
Elliott lost his train of thought when he felt the warmth of Octavio’s arm against his, turning slowly to look at him, in fear he might move away.
“W-well...it’s meant to be a bow and there was also a, uh, guy who did...erm, som-something.”
Octavio seemed amused by the poor excuse for an explanation, looking up at him with a lopsided grin. The reason for them being here completely slipped the trickster’s mind, enthralled by the way Octavio’s eyes seemed to shimmer despite the low light, like they held stars of their own. Before he’d realised it, he was leaning in and it seemed like Octavio was doing the same, the warmth of their breaths intermingling until…
“Hi friend!”
They jolted apart. Elliott’s fist found the grass beneath them as he glared over his shoulder towards Pathfinder who was now standing behind them with his typical smiling face on display, oblivious.
“What, Path?”
“Ramya and I are going to go to a place higher up to get a better look at the meteor shower! I thought you would like to come too!”
The trickster muttered something to himself as he got to his feet and dusted himself off, red faced. The robot looked in the direction of the runner, who was rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly as he watched Elliott stand up.
“Hello Octane! Would you like to come with us?”
“Uhhh...I don’t know, amigo. I should wait for Che to turn up. You know how she gets.”
Elliott nodded forlornly as he turned to follow Pathfinder who had already begun to walk away, now a few paces ahead of him. He’d only taken a couple of steps when he heard Octavio call out to him, immediately stopping him in his tracks.
“Hey, compadre! I think you forgot something!”
Elliott furrowed his eyebrows and began frisking his pockets, while the runner practically bounced towards him.
“Is it my phone again? I’m always losing that stupid th-mmph.”
He was cut off when two hands grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him inwards, his knees almost buckling at the feeling of Octavio’s lips on his. The kiss was full of longing and was over far too soon. Octavio was sporting that same smile from earlier when they parted, leaving the trickster feeling slightly dizzy.
“Maybe we could hang out? After these stars are done doing their thing...or whatever?”
Elliott nodded dumbly, barely being able to process what just happened.
“Yeah! Yes! Um...swing by my bar later. I’ll buy you a drink! Well, I...do own the place so I guess I can technically give them out for free.”
“Cool,” Octavio said, taking a step back with a small laugh. “Catch you later then.”
Elliott watched him go, weaving through the clusters of people who had gathered until he was out of sight, that same buzz from earlier hurtling through his veins and settling somewhere in his chest, making him feel warm despite the goosebumps that had formed down his arms.
Yep. He definitely had a crush.