My Art Book

Starry Sky

A/N: Requested by FearTheQueer!

I was sitting, leaning really, against a dark grey boulder.

The moss was wet with dew behind my dark grey hoodie. My hair, which I had dyed earlier that morning, was already mussed up and going in all directions as if I hadn't brushed it a few minutes ago. I was cold, and itchy. 

But even though the grass was uncomfortable, and my hair was a mess, and it was freezing cold outside, I still knew I wanted to stay here. 

Here, where the sky was painted dark, dark blue with the faintest traces of turquoise and purple, blacks and indigos splashed in the faraway sky. Here, where the stars were beautiful and constellations formed, even if I had to point them out to my friend Roman, who didn't know shit about the pictures the stars drew for us. 

Here, where his hand was gently wrapped around mine as we sat in the grass, leaning against the clay-brown boulder in the middle of a large clearing. 

We stayed like that for maybe hundreds of minutes, maybe hundreds of hours. I couldn't tell. The stars moved and rotated, but stayed exactly the same. The moon, bright and glowing, shone on both of us, lighting up the stars and the clearing. 

Fireflies flew quietly around, darting onto my shoulders and glowing flaming orange, yellows and reds and bright, bright gold. Intertwining, flying into each other, landing on rocks, then taking off, lighting up the meadow. 

We had taken off immediately after school, Roman grabbing my hand and pulling me along. I hadn't even gotten a chance to drop off my backpack, just running after him as he told me all about the clearing he had found that morning. 

When we had arrived I had been awestruck, looking around, mouth wide. I couldn't stop smiling then, looking up at the clear sky and the grassy, flower-spotted meadow. 

School had been a while back, hadn't it? We had stayed here for a long, long time, before the stars came out. Before the sun sank into the horizon, lighting up the world in one last, sweet, scarlet cry. 

Roman squeezed my hand softly, bringing me back to the present. I should try to stay in the now, instead of lingering on memories that I can easily think about later. 

I leaned into Roman's warmth, nuzzling my head into the crook of his shoulder. He smiled and messed up my hair yet again. 

"You need to stop that," I muttered, trying to flatten my hair back down. 

He laughed. "Aren't you cold, Virgil?" he asked, looking down at me. "I am."

I rolled my eyes. "I'll tell you when you stop messing with my hair," I chided. "But look." I broke off the conversation and pointed at the stars again. "That's the Gemini constellation."

It glowed sweetly and quietly, the stars twinkling softly in the pattern I had seen so, so many times from my bedroom window. Here they lay, undisturbed, for me to see them. The sky, dark and quiet. Clouds floating past, accented with powder blue and pink and purple. 

Roman looked up and back at me. "Beautiful," he murmured. 

"It is, isn't it." My hands went up as if I was trying to brush the stars with the tips of my pale hands. Roman grabbed gently onto my chest and pulled me down onto the grass, so we were laying down, with the entire sky laid up above us. 

He smiled softly. "I wasn't talking about the stars."

All of my attention then went to him, our eyes meeting then, maybe for the first time that night. 

His eyes, which were like dark, melted chocolate, with gold and ombre undertones. Reflecting the stars, so there were bright pinpricks of light sparkling everywhere in his eyes. The moonlight shone onto his face, illuminating his soft, sad smile. 

My mouth opened a little, then I closed it again, as I felt tears begin to press at the edges of my eyes. I knew my cheeks were heating up, painting a blush onto my face, so I glanced away and tried to pry my hand away from Roman's, in an effort to cover my blush. 

He laughed. "Don't cover up your face, Virgil." His use of my name made me look up, peeking out of my hands. 

"I don't want you to see me blush," I muttered, wanting to move closer to Roman, and yet run away at the same time. It was an odd feeling. I didn't know how... I didn't know what it was. 

He merely placed his hands over mine, not making me move them. "Why not? I want to see you when you realize what I'm trying to tell you."

My breath caught in my throat, nearly making me cough. "You don't-- you don't mean--"

Roman looked away and back, that same sad, sweet smile spreading across his lips. I didn't know where to look-- away? At Roman? Maybe just close my eyes?

None of them seemed quite correct. 

"Yeah." He swallowed and released his hands, now glancing away. A firefly landed between us, blinking several times, then flying off. 

Not knowing exactly what I was doing, the words seemed to come out of my mouth all on their own. 

"Can--" I took a deep breath and continued. "Can I kiss you?"

Roman looked quickly back, his own face now a shade of dark scarlet. "I mean. If you want to?"

I scuffed my boot against the grass. "I do-- I do want to."

Leaning forward, I grabbed his hand as if it was an anchor and softly met his lips with mine. It was long and sweet. Nothing like what someone could compare it to. I couldn't describe it perfectly, no matter what. 

When the kiss was broken, no words were immediately said. We stayed silent for a while, hands intertwined, faces red, and composure shattered. 

Finally, Roman took it upon himself to say something. He leaned closer, placing his forehead against mine, and giving me another gentle embrace. "Virgil Grey, do you want to be my one and only boyfriend?"

Still speechless, I quietly nodded. Tears finally started streaming down my face, dripping off onto the grass. 

Roman's smile became soft, and as he wiped off the tears, he pointed up at the sky. "What's that constellation?" he asked, voice gentle and soothing. 

I looked up, seeing the stars shining. "It's... it's the Apus constellation, also known as the 'Bird Of Paradise'."

He laughed. "Gorgeous."

"Talking about the stars or me?" I asked, blinking away the tears and replacing them with a smile of my own. 

Roman gave me another kiss. "Both."

We stayed like that a few more minutes, looking up at the stars, until the moon was at its highest peak and we knew we had to go back home.