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Harvest usually stayed down in the lab, as the bright neon lights of the PizzaPlex hurt his eyes and overwhelmed him- but, he did like stepping outside, usually at night, to get fresh air. He liked the night time because of how calm it usually was- that and the sunlight hurt his eyes.
Tonight was one of those rare nights where Harvest wandered outside, seeking out fresh air. He snuck out a side door, being sure to make complete sure that his tail was out of the doorframe before letting the door shut- something he totally didn’t learn to do from experience.
It was a rare moment where Harvest was startled by the unexpected presence of another person- Mars, to be specific. Actually, the two startled each other, with Mars even letting out a small yelp.
“Gah! Harvest! I- uhm- ahem- you uh.. startled me..”
Mars cleared his throat, adjusting his glasses so they didn’t fall off his face.
“You startled me…”
Harvest replied gruffly before adding;
“What are you doing out here?”
“Oh- uh- just getting some fresh air is all…. You?”
“The same, I suppose…”
Harvest crossed his arms, leaning against the side of the building. He looked up at Mars, gazing at him more thoroughly, noticing how Mars kept looking upwards at the night sky, his breath coming out in small clouds.
“What are you doing?”
Harvest asked, narrowing his eyes in a curious manner.
“Oh- uhm- I’m.. well.. I’m attempting to stargaze- but it’s a little difficult with all the light pollution around… we’re in quite a large city after all..”
Mars let out an awkward chuckle, reaching up towards his face and beginning to fidget with his star-shaped earrings.
Harvest raised his eyebrows, then looked upwards towards the sky as well, squinting.
“I see…”
The two sat in silence for a moment, just looking at the sky, attempting to see stars.
The longer Harvest looked, the better he could see- as his night vision was significantly more enhanced than the others. He began to see more and more glimmering little dots, and his expression softened a little. This was the first time he’d properly seen starts- and they reminded him of the freckles on Mars’ face…
“They remind me of you..”
He said without thinking, making Mars turn and stare at him for a moment, his face going beet red.
“I- w-wha- what?”
Mars stammered, slightly flustered.
Harvest’s cheeks burned a little, and he cleared his throat.
“I just mean- the freckles on your face… and your earrings… and.. uhm.. you know… the sparkles in your hair…”
Harvest looked away as he spoke, not wanting Mars to see the blush on his face.
“A-ah- I see- well.. thank you…”
Mars chuckled in a slightly awkward and definitely still flustered manner, and Harvest just grunted in acknowledgment, reaching up and dipping the brim of his hat over his face to hide his still blush-stained cheeks.
After a moment, Harvest cleared his throat and straightened his hat, going back to looking up at the sky.
If Mars squinted, he could begin to see more and more stars as well, and he smiled- well, wider than he was already. Then he let out a small gasp- which slightly startled Harvest.
“Oh! Harvest- look! It’s the Cancer constellation!”
He pointed upwards towards a particular set of stars, and Harvest tilted his head, raising an eyebrow.
“Where…?”
Mars crouched down on one knee beside Harvest, his hand on his shoulder, and traced along the constellation with his fingertip.
Harvest stiffened at the touch for a moment before relaxing, finding himself not exactly minding the contact.
“Right there- see? It’s one of the constellations on my suspenders!”
Harvest squinted, and actually began to see it- especially now that he knew what to look for, as he remembered what the constellation looked like from Mars’ left suspender.
“Ah.. I.. see it now.. fascinating…”
He tilted his head, tail swaying side to side with genuine interest- mainly because Mars seemed so excited about it.
Mars gripped Harvest’s shoulder a little tighter as he let out another small gasp.
“Oh- look! There’s Leo!”
Mars traced along another constellation with his finger, practically vibrating with excitement at being able to see these constellations in person- his eyes actually glowing brighter than they usually did in the dark.
Harvest nodded, secretly finding Mars’ excitement absolutely adorable- but he held his tongue.
“And if Leo is there…”
Mars squinted a little and carefully looked towards the left.
“Then Virgo.. should be…. There!”
Turning a bit, Mars pointed to Virgo- which was also the other constellation on his other suspender- meaning Harvest had an easier time seeing it.
“I would have never noticed them..”
Harvest said quietly, subconsciously leaning into Mars’ touch, his tail beginning to wag slightly without him even noticing.
“You have a good eye, Mars.”
“Oh! Thank you- well- I mean- I do spend some of my spare time researching space.. I just think it’s so fascinating..”
Mars seemed slightly flustered at the compliment, which Harvest thought was cute- which just added to a list.
“Is it because you and the other daycare attendants.. minus the deer- are space themed?”
Harvest teased him a little, smirking.
“Wah- uh- no- I mean- that might have initially inspired my research at the beginning- b-but I truly find it very interesting!”
Harvest chuckled as Mars stammered in a flustered manner, the noise rumbling in his chest.
“You’re cute when you get all flustered and embarrassed…”
He mused- then promptly realized what he’d just said- and became acutely aware of his tail wagging.
Mars froze, eyes widening to the size of saucers. He was speechless for a moment- his mouth opening and closing like a fish.
“I- I- you- wait- you- a- cute…? You think I’m… cute?”
Mars stammered before finally managing to form an actually coherent sentence, and Harvest let out a small noise of embarrassment before nodding ever so slightly, his hands shooting upwards to grab the brim of his hat and pull it over his face to hide how red it was getting.
Mars’ face was also getting hot and red- well, redder, but still. He wouldn’t have expected Harvest of all people to call him cute.. that’s what he was most surprised about, honestly- that it was Harvest out of anyone else. He’d be less surprised if Night called him cute- or hell- maybe even less surprised than if Day called him that. He felt like a deer in headlights- but in a good, fluttery way.
“I- uh- I-“
Mars stammered again, but was cut off when Harvest promptly, and secretly reluctantly, wrenched his shoulder from Mars’ grip and backed up towards the door- nearly tripping over his own feet uncharacteristically.
“Ah- goodnight, Mars- it’s late and I uh… I’m very tired-“
He lied right through his teeth- not caring if the lie was obvious or not- which it was and he knew it.
“But uh- I- I.. enjoyed our time together out here- you’re more tolerable than most of the others!”
Harvest swung the door back into the PizzaPlex open and quickly rushed through it, letting it swing shut on its own- promptly resulting in the door slamming shut on his tail- which earned a surprised, pained yelp out of him, followed by several curses- which were all muffled for Mars, who just stood there trying to process what he’d just seen.
Harvest? Flustered like that? Flustered at all? Mars never thought he’d see the day…
He let out a small giggle to himself, reaching up a hand to cover his mouth.
“He’s so funny sometimes…”
He murmured to himself, unable to stop smiling and replaying their brief yet unforgettable time together in his head over and over again.