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Hayward stood at the edge of The Grace, looking up at the stars winking in the sky. He turned when he heard footsteps approaching him. It was Paige, an oversized jacket over her shoulders and mud caked boots on her feet.
“The stars are bright tonight,” he said. “You don’t really get to see them much out here.”
Paige smiled under her gas mask. “They are,” she stood next to him, tilting her head up. “It's nice.”
Hayward followed her gaze.
“You know, when I was a kid, I would climb onto my roof and try to watch for a shooting star so I could make a wish.” Hayward chuckled.
“What did you want to wish for?” Paige asked.
“No clue, I think I just liked the idea that I could make one.” Hayward glanced at her, then back at the stars.
Paige said, “When I was a kid, my dad would point out constellations to me. Looking back, I think he was making them up. I know some of the constellations he would tell me about were real, but whether or not they were there…I have no clue. But it would be just the two of us, on a worn out blanket in our backyard and- well- it was oddly peaceful.”
“I don’t think that sounds ‘oddly peaceful’, I think it sounds…” Hayward paused, thinking.
“Comforting?” Paige finished for him.
“Yeah,” Hayward agreed, “comforting.”
“That ritual stopped when I was a teen,” Paige said.
“Too much angst?” Hayward teased.
“I wish,” Paige said, “I just didn’t have the same relationship with my dad.”
There was a beat as they watched the stars, a cool breeze drifting by.
“Do you want to pretend there are constellations?” Hayward asked, breaking the silence.
“Yeah, we can pretend,” Paige said.
Hayward pointed to a small cluster of stars. “That can be…uh- Aquarius?”
Paige laughed.
“Hey!” Hayward looked at her.
“Looks closer to Canis Major, or at least what my dad said Canis Major was.”
“Alright, So if that's Canis Major, what is Aquarius?”
Paige pointed to a group of stars West of Canis Major, “that one.”
“That looks nothing like Aquarius.”
“I did say he was probably making them up.”
Hayward chuckled, shoving his hands in his pockets as another cool breeze passed between them. “Yeah, fair point.”
“So, you know about constellations?” Paige asked.
“Vaguely.” Hayward shrugged. “I got bored of just waiting for a shooting star, so I started to look for them, but it's been a long time. I forgot most of them.”
“Did you have one you liked the most?” Paige asked
Hayward hummed as he thought for a moment, “I always liked seeing Lepus.”
They stood in a comfortable silence, and for once, a calmness settled over them.
Hayward yawned. “Well, I’m gonna call it a night.”
“Alright,” Paige said, looking at Hayward, “I’m going to stay out a bit later.”
Hayward patted the back of her shoulder. “’Kay, see you in the morning.”
“Yeah, you too,” she said.
Hayward left, walking back into The Grace. Paige watched him for a moment before looking up again, the stars looking down at her.