It's hard to not try and scan for some more familiar celestial arrangements, but the best he can really do is a few that seem.... almost close to something recognizable, if he squints enough. There's nothing saying they can't come up with their own patterns, though, even if the robots surely have ones of their own, so at Kai's question, Shinji gives a contemplative hum.
"Well," he leans in, getting his face a little closer to Kai's to make sure their lines of sight match up well enough so he can point out a section, drawing lines through the stars with his finger. "I was thinking, these few here, and the way they kind of sweep out? Kind of reminds me of a bird in flight."
Kai's gaze trailed across the sky, following the path Shinji left for him to follow. There were definitely probably constellations up there that had already been determined by the people that had lived here for centuries, but Kai hadn't looked them up yet. This spin with a blank canvas had been exactly what he'd meant.
He traced over the same path with his own fingers as he filled it out in his mind. "Ah, yeah," he said, turning his head to-- Oh. Looks like he was boopin' Shinji's face.
Oh! That little collision earns a soft, single laugh from Shinji, faintly nervous from how easily this could turn into a ~dangerous~ situation, but mostly just... warm. This is honestly really pleasant, and that's enough to make dwelling on any potential dangers feel particularly silly.
"Hm, yeah."
He doesn't quite move away to make any kind of buffer between them, at any rate. Let's stay nice and close for a bit longer here. "Have you found anything interesting?"
As per the norm, any hazards of this situation slipped right past Kai undetected. They were just bumpin' heads and gazing into each others' eyes from Real Close, what was dangerous about that. Perfectly normal scenarios right here.
So very normal that he hadn't made a move just yet either. "Hmm... nothin' too fun. I keep lookin' for triangles."
So normal, so cozy. Truly, neither of them are ready to give up this nice atmosphere just yet, even if it is making Shinji's heart flutter a bit, and bringing a bit of color to his cheeks. It's dark enough that you might not even be able to tell, no need to worry about it all too much. Just keep focusing upward.
"Yeah?" That sounds like a good place to start with an imaginative adventure like constellation crafting as any. "Any good ones?"
Not to worry. The night sky had your back, Shinji. Be at peace, even as Kai made no real move to change anything about this. It wasn't like this was even the closest they had ever been.
"Hmm... There's some contenders, but it's hard to say if they're consistent."
Now he turned his head, looking back up at the stars to find the paths he'd found before. They didn't jump out yet like they normally would, but after a moment he breathed out a soft 'ah.' It was his turn to touch the sky. Here, here, there.
"I don't think any of 'em are Orihime, but who knows."
A good approximation of a summer triangle, at any rate. Shinji offers a soft 'aah,' of understanding, he sees what you're going for, Kai.
"Could be," just as easily as they could be anything else. This is clearly an exercise in imagination right now, so why not entertain the idea for a bit? "If this one were Orihime," he points to one of the stars Kai marked, before trailing his finger down to another one, "That would make... this one Hikoboshi, right?"
Kai watched as Shinji laid them out. Hmm. "Yeah," he murmured with a nod, "that checks out."
He hadn't actually thought of that story in a good long while. He couldn't say he'd ever really been a fan of it either, but there really hadn't been any escaping it. It had always kind of fallen into the category of 'at least someone's having a good day.' Hm.
"Wonder if the magpies will make it this far out."
It isn't as if Shinji has any particular attachment to the story, and if he were to think about it long enough, he'd definitely say he's not thrilled about the whole star-crossed nature of the situation. Even with the benefit of crossing that bridge once a year, isn't it still awfully sad?
But still, tonight isn't the night for letting thoughts of falling fast and hard sweep over him, or the thought of tragically short meetings weigh his heart down. He can understand perfectly well how the situation would leave him feeling, and he can instead settle his focus back on the warmth next to him, and how even in the uncertain nature of Havenwell, it isn't something that's been fleeting.
"Maybe they wouldn't have to do all of that waiting in the first place. It's a whole different sky out here, there might not even be that river between them."
Ah, to be blissfully unaware of why discussing this story in particular might have been rough going. The only parts that were really occurring to Kai were that he had supposed they would have found out soon enough. It was really just around the corner, wasn't it? Which meant that it had nearly been a whole year in this strange place.
It was a whole new summer, and Shinji was still there at his side. Absolutely wild.
"Mm, s'true. I haven't seen the milky way up there. Maybe she finally told her dad off and they ran off to a whole new place. Somewhere to start over."
Maybe, soon enough, the truth will become clear to him. Sooner or later. Eventually. Possibly. For now, he can settle on concocting this new adventure for the two stars.
"Hah, wouldn't that be something?"
No huge parties, no meddling dads, what an ideal arrangement. Yeah, this would be a good place for that fresh start.
"At least they'd be able to enjoy their time together without having to wait or make a whole production out of it."
"Hm. Knowing that bunch, they're probably the ones that invited them."
You know. 'Invited.' Not that the two of them probably minded, if it meant finding a bit of peace from the things they left behind. It'd worked for him so far so, hey, good for them.
"They each got someone to lean on. They'll be fine."
Cause that's how it worked, wasn't it? Literally. And not quite so literally, too. Who knew how many times they'd taken advantage of the small comforts now.
Kai tilt his head, letting his gaze fall back on the gentle slopes of Shinji's profile. "S'worked for us so far, right?" He said, unknowingly echoing some of the other boy's thoughts.
Spotting that bit of movement out of the corner of his eye, Shinji angles his head just a bit to catch Kai's glance.
"Yeah. Even if it takes more work than just that, it's all still worth it," he says, with a sheepish little smile, before turning his attention back up. Clearly, we're getting less and less vague with who we're really talking about here, between the theoretical celestial runaways and the very real ones laying on the ground speculating about them.
Kai's gaze softened with that, a tender whisp of a smile slipping across his face. That was good to hear. It wasn't the first time the sentiment had come up, but every time it did it had gotten a little bit warmer. A little bit closer to something they could probably call happiness. Amazing.
"Good," Kai murmured warmly. "You've... gotten a lot brighter, y'know."
It's not the first, and it's unlikely to be the last time he says it, either. Every time he comes back to that thought, it continues to strike him how much more and more comfortable he is with it, after all. Whatever reservations he may still be unable to shake, they only seem to feel smaller and smaller in comparison to the merits of being here.
Merits worth sticking around for, like that hint of a smile from Kai, like those warm words settling on his heart.
"Ah," that warmth blooms up into his cheeks, but he doesn't pay it much mind this time around. "I think... no, I know I have you to thank for that."
If Kai hand't been so stubborn about making sure he was okay, Shinji would probably still be holing himself up as much as possible, keeping himself from getting to honestly enjoy the sorts of kind experiences this world and the other people brought here opened up for him. He knows he owes Kai more than he could ever repay in that respect, the least he can do is try to put that effort paid to him to good use.
"I might not ever really like myself, but even if it's really, really hard... I want to try and be a better person than I was."
Kai had to pause, lips parting ever so slightly with a sentiment he didn't have the words for. Taking credit for something like this seemed wildly incorrect but... God, if this was the one good thing his dumb ass could manage in his life, Kai was more than okay with that. If nothing else, this was good.
"Shinji..."
Rolling a little, Kai propped himself up to look at him just a bit better. He couldn't really be too disheartened by some of that-- compared to where Shinji had been about a year ago, even just "maybe not ever really liking himself" was. Real Big Progress? Wanting to be better would just keep changing that for the better, maybe? That felt right, at least. Kai wanted to believe in that.
He settled his hand warm near the far edge of Shinji's collar, squeezing lightly. "You'll get there. Definitely."
Ahh, there he goes, proving Shinji's point with the vote of confidence, the reassurance that it was a goal worth chasing. He certainly never leaves Shinji wanting for any kind of feedback, like there's enough to him worth salvaging and repairing and sending forward. What else can he do, if not take it to heart?
"Thank you," he says gently, lifting one hand to rest on top of Kai's, echoing that squeeze with one of his own. Thank you, for tonight, for believing in him, "For everything. I really am lucky that we got to meet here."
It still felt kind of weird, to be thanked for something like this. It felt like believing in him should have just been a baseline to follow, but... Well, Kai knew that wasn't the case didn't he. He'd low-key been in a state of disbelief this whole time over similar enough sentiments. Maybe someday these would be feelings that were normal.
Wouldn't that be wild?
Kai leaned down, gently bumping his head against Shinji's. "Yeah," he murmured. They were both really lucky. "Can't think of anywhere I'd rather be." Not now. Not after all of this.
So close...! Shinji's heart skips a beat as Kai dips his head down, and settles once again as those quiet words settle on his ears.
That is... kind of a heavy sentiment, isn't it? Not one that Shinji can't grasp, the fact that Kai never seems to have much to say as far as sentimental memories of the world he came from is awfully telling, but it's not like he's in the same position as Shinji is. Where there's essentially nothing to return to, where Havenwell truly is the better option, even with its quirks and pitfalls. To think that Kai would have it better here, to think that Shinji would have some hand in it...
And yet, can he really deny that he's factoring in to that claim, not when they're here, not when Kai's so close. It's enough to refresh that barely buried worry that he's somehow deceived the other, how could he possibly factor in to something that important, but...
Ah. This really is nice.
"Me neither." He exhales softly, not quite a laugh, but close, as he reaches up with his free hand to gently rest at the back of Kai's head, in a gesture almost like a hair-ruffle. Almost. "I hope... I get to stay here with you for as long as possible."
There was something almost electric about the way Shinji's fingertips skirted over his hair. For a moment, Kai could have sworn that maybe he'd done something by accident. It didn't seem that way though? There was no alarm happening, just all of this. It was pretty close to a hair ruffle though. Enough so that Kai let his eyes slip close for a moment, a soft smile on his lips.
Undeniably, there was a small part of him that was holding on to a scrap of guilt that he hadn't done anything more back home. The nights of anxious highways hadn't entirely gone away yet. But who knew if anyone still needed him? ... Who knew if they'd ever needed him in the first place?
"Me too," Kai agreed, looking at Shinji again. "S'good thing we've got a lot of work to do, I guess."
There is a whole planet here to fix, who can really say how long that will take? The times that he'd speculated about it, Shinji had kind of imagined it could easily be a lifetime's worth of work, and that, as long as he put as much work as he could into himself as well, a lifetime spent here might not be a bad outcome.
Now, though, even if he were offered the possibility of going back, and the part of him that still feels like he's got some responsibility or obligation to either fix the mess he left behind or live with it... he really, truly wouldn't want to leave Kai behind. It's selfish, and he knows it is, but after everything, he'd unquestionably hate himself even more if he seriously considered choosing to hurt the other like that.
"Mmm," he hums softly in agreement. Who knew that potential lifetime of work would be a 'good thing'? How wild. "I'll do what I can, so that maybe the two of us can see a real night sky together someday."
Whether that could be close possibility, or remain a distant promise to keep in mind.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
"Well," he leans in, getting his face a little closer to Kai's to make sure their lines of sight match up well enough so he can point out a section, drawing lines through the stars with his finger. "I was thinking, these few here, and the way they kind of sweep out? Kind of reminds me of a bird in flight."
no subject
He traced over the same path with his own fingers as he filled it out in his mind. "Ah, yeah," he said, turning his head to-- Oh. Looks like he was boopin' Shinji's face.
"...Ha. S'good one. I see it."
no subject
"Hm, yeah."
He doesn't quite move away to make any kind of buffer between them, at any rate. Let's stay nice and close for a bit longer here. "Have you found anything interesting?"
no subject
So very normal that he hadn't made a move just yet either. "Hmm... nothin' too fun. I keep lookin' for triangles."
no subject
"Yeah?" That sounds like a good place to start with an imaginative adventure like constellation crafting as any. "Any good ones?"
no subject
"Hmm... There's some contenders, but it's hard to say if they're consistent."
Now he turned his head, looking back up at the stars to find the paths he'd found before. They didn't jump out yet like they normally would, but after a moment he breathed out a soft 'ah.' It was his turn to touch the sky. Here, here, there.
"I don't think any of 'em are Orihime, but who knows."
no subject
"Could be," just as easily as they could be anything else. This is clearly an exercise in imagination right now, so why not entertain the idea for a bit? "If this one were Orihime," he points to one of the stars Kai marked, before trailing his finger down to another one, "That would make... this one Hikoboshi, right?"
no subject
He hadn't actually thought of that story in a good long while. He couldn't say he'd ever really been a fan of it either, but there really hadn't been any escaping it. It had always kind of fallen into the category of 'at least someone's having a good day.' Hm.
"Wonder if the magpies will make it this far out."
no subject
It isn't as if Shinji has any particular attachment to the story, and if he were to think about it long enough, he'd definitely say he's not thrilled about the whole star-crossed nature of the situation. Even with the benefit of crossing that bridge once a year, isn't it still awfully sad?
But still, tonight isn't the night for letting thoughts of falling fast and hard sweep over him, or the thought of tragically short meetings weigh his heart down. He can understand perfectly well how the situation would leave him feeling, and he can instead settle his focus back on the warmth next to him, and how even in the uncertain nature of Havenwell, it isn't something that's been fleeting.
"Maybe they wouldn't have to do all of that waiting in the first place. It's a whole different sky out here, there might not even be that river between them."
no subject
It was a whole new summer, and Shinji was still there at his side. Absolutely wild.
"Mm, s'true. I haven't seen the milky way up there. Maybe she finally told her dad off and they ran off to a whole new place. Somewhere to start over."
Here was a good place for that.
no subject
"Hah, wouldn't that be something?"
No huge parties, no meddling dads, what an ideal arrangement. Yeah, this would be a good place for that fresh start.
"At least they'd be able to enjoy their time together without having to wait or make a whole production out of it."
no subject
No more chaperones for them. Just a nice third figure to balance everything out. Yeah, that seemed good.
no subject
"I'm sure there are plenty of things like birds, mice, cats, and dragons up there to keep them company, too."
Whatever constellations might be there already, surely they'd be willing to take in a couple of runaways from another sky.
no subject
You know. 'Invited.' Not that the two of them probably minded, if it meant finding a bit of peace from the things they left behind. It'd worked for him so far so, hey, good for them.
no subject
"Mmm. I hope they appreciate the invitation. Even if this sky has its own set of problems to work out, maybe they won't be as hard to deal with."
That would be nice, wouldn't it?
no subject
Cause that's how it worked, wasn't it? Literally. And not quite so literally, too. Who knew how many times they'd taken advantage of the small comforts now.
Kai tilt his head, letting his gaze fall back on the gentle slopes of Shinji's profile. "S'worked for us so far, right?" He said, unknowingly echoing some of the other boy's thoughts.
no subject
"Yeah. Even if it takes more work than just that, it's all still worth it," he says, with a sheepish little smile, before turning his attention back up. Clearly, we're getting less and less vague with who we're really talking about here, between the theoretical celestial runaways and the very real ones laying on the ground speculating about them.
"I'm... glad that I'm here. Really, really glad."
no subject
"Good," Kai murmured warmly. "You've... gotten a lot brighter, y'know."
no subject
Merits worth sticking around for, like that hint of a smile from Kai, like those warm words settling on his heart.
"Ah," that warmth blooms up into his cheeks, but he doesn't pay it much mind this time around. "I think... no, I know I have you to thank for that."
If Kai hand't been so stubborn about making sure he was okay, Shinji would probably still be holing himself up as much as possible, keeping himself from getting to honestly enjoy the sorts of kind experiences this world and the other people brought here opened up for him. He knows he owes Kai more than he could ever repay in that respect, the least he can do is try to put that effort paid to him to good use.
"I might not ever really like myself, but even if it's really, really hard... I want to try and be a better person than I was."
no subject
"Shinji..."
Rolling a little, Kai propped himself up to look at him just a bit better. He couldn't really be too disheartened by some of that-- compared to where Shinji had been about a year ago, even just "maybe not ever really liking himself" was. Real Big Progress? Wanting to be better would just keep changing that for the better, maybe? That felt right, at least. Kai wanted to believe in that.
He settled his hand warm near the far edge of Shinji's collar, squeezing lightly. "You'll get there. Definitely."
no subject
"Thank you," he says gently, lifting one hand to rest on top of Kai's, echoing that squeeze with one of his own. Thank you, for tonight, for believing in him, "For everything. I really am lucky that we got to meet here."
no subject
Wouldn't that be wild?
Kai leaned down, gently bumping his head against Shinji's. "Yeah," he murmured. They were both really lucky. "Can't think of anywhere I'd rather be." Not now. Not after all of this.
no subject
That is... kind of a heavy sentiment, isn't it? Not one that Shinji can't grasp, the fact that Kai never seems to have much to say as far as sentimental memories of the world he came from is awfully telling, but it's not like he's in the same position as Shinji is. Where there's essentially nothing to return to, where Havenwell truly is the better option, even with its quirks and pitfalls. To think that Kai would have it better here, to think that Shinji would have some hand in it...
And yet, can he really deny that he's factoring in to that claim, not when they're here, not when Kai's so close. It's enough to refresh that barely buried worry that he's somehow deceived the other, how could he possibly factor in to something that important, but...
Ah. This really is nice.
"Me neither." He exhales softly, not quite a laugh, but close, as he reaches up with his free hand to gently rest at the back of Kai's head, in a gesture almost like a hair-ruffle. Almost. "I hope... I get to stay here with you for as long as possible."
no subject
There was something almost electric about the way Shinji's fingertips skirted over his hair. For a moment, Kai could have sworn that maybe he'd done something by accident. It didn't seem that way though? There was no alarm happening, just all of this. It was pretty close to a hair ruffle though. Enough so that Kai let his eyes slip close for a moment, a soft smile on his lips.
Undeniably, there was a small part of him that was holding on to a scrap of guilt that he hadn't done anything more back home. The nights of anxious highways hadn't entirely gone away yet. But who knew if anyone still needed him? ... Who knew if they'd ever needed him in the first place?
"Me too," Kai agreed, looking at Shinji again. "S'good thing we've got a lot of work to do, I guess."
no subject
Now, though, even if he were offered the possibility of going back, and the part of him that still feels like he's got some responsibility or obligation to either fix the mess he left behind or live with it... he really, truly wouldn't want to leave Kai behind. It's selfish, and he knows it is, but after everything, he'd unquestionably hate himself even more if he seriously considered choosing to hurt the other like that.
"Mmm," he hums softly in agreement. Who knew that potential lifetime of work would be a 'good thing'? How wild. "I'll do what I can, so that maybe the two of us can see a real night sky together someday."
Whether that could be close possibility, or remain a distant promise to keep in mind.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)