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"So which stars are the little crab?" Oz asked, rolling onto their side on the picnic table to look at Scott.
"See those two there, super close?" Scott's thick finger was pointing to at least half a dozen stars. Oz shifted closer to Scott so they could see the same field and pointed to the two brightest in the area.
"Those two?"
"No, that one, and that littler guy."
"This one and this one?" Oz tried again.
"Yeah! Those are his claws!"
"Is the crab just two stars?" Oz gave a small surprised start.
Scott laughed. "No, bro. He's got three little stars for his body, too. But I always find him by his claws. They're like pom-poms drawing attention to where he's at."
Oz looked skeptically at the small constellation of faint stars. "They're the easiest to spot," Oz agreed.
"Yeah. That's my little crab." Scott smiled up at the sky. "You go little guy!"
"Do you think the stars ever get in fights?" Oz asked after a long moment of enjoying Scott's excessive body heat.
"I never thought about it, but they must. They're like a big family and families fight even though they love each other."
"I don't know if that's a universal rule," Oz objected before thinking of their family. "But it might not be..."
"Yeah, I'm sure they fight all the time," Scott said confidently. "Fighting doesn't have to be a bad thing. Sometimes you need to fight to burn off playful energy, or to resolve conflict, or to communicate around a difficult issue, or to show your love or flirt with someone."
"I don't know if that's the best way to do all of those things," Oz said.
"Oh, yeah - wanna fight about it?" Scott waggled his furry eyebrows playfully.
Oz leaned in and placed a kiss on Scott's cheek. "Heck yeah - but why don't we have the stars fight for us?"
"That sounds rad, bro! I choose little crab. He has really sharp claws and he's made of red armor."
Oz was tempted to pick Hercules, who literally curb stomped Cancer in Greek mythology, but also felt that wouldn't be entirely sporting. Also they weren't sure the Hydra story would be convincing. "Well, it seems fair for me to pick The Fishies, since that's my constellation."
"I don't think fish can beat crabs," Scott said proudly. "Crab claws can break open walnuts, or maybe even safes. And they walk sideways, so they're hard to hit."
"What about fish that eat crabs?" Oz asked with a smirk.
"Let me see this fish," Scott demanded, looking fiercely up at the night sky. "Is it really a crab-eating fish?"
"See that little circle of stars over here." Oz put their head right next to Scott's and pointed up at the circlet of Pisces.
Scott put his thumb up to perfectly block it out. "There?"
"Yeah - and then the stars going down over here are the girl fish. And these stars going up here are the boy fish."
"Wait - you're attacking with TWO fish?" Scott asked, eyes narrowing.
"Um... I guess. Pisces is two fish."
"Dude, two against one isn't fair. Little Crab should get some back up!"
Oz smiled. "Okay, choose your fighter, Howl."
"I pick the Heavenly Fishingpole," Scott said, sitting up unable to contain his excitement. He pointed enthusiastically at a patch of sky. "Look, it's over here. These stars are kind of like a pole, and then these farther apart stars are like a string with a tiny little hook."
"Those three stars are a hook?" Oz confirmed with clear skepticism seeping into their tone like overbrewed black tea.
"Yeah!” Scott agreed blissfully. “The hook is for catching fish."
"That's kind of perfect for a star fight against a pair of fish."
"It is!" Scott agreed happily. "Look, there's even a little reel star for pulling the fish in."
"I guess I have to concede," Oz said. They weren't even looking at the stars anymore, but reached up to rest their arm on Scott's chest. "Little Crab with Heavenly Fishingpole definitely beats Fishies, even crab-eating fishies."
"I told you fighting doesn't have to be a bad thing."
"You were right, Scott."
"Do you want to battle some more stars?" Scott asked hopefully.