Jaya Week 2022

A Night Full of Stars, but I'm Looking at You...

Day 5: September 11th

Prompt: Stars

Note: We are just going to pretend that I didn't take a break halfway through this.

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 He could still remember the first time he saw her.

Covered in soot, in her brothers' arms.

He could remember the pain that his throat was in.

How words refused to come out of his mouth.

And yet, the most memorable thing about that day was her laughter.

It has haunted his dreams ever since.

And she didn't do anything.

No, she could never hurt him in the way that she was.

She didn't know that her hands had went through his chest and pulled out his heart.

But still... 

He could see his heart beating loudly.

Beating loudly at the mere sight of her eyes as they reached his.

But he wouldn't say anything.

There was no way that girl as wonderful as her...

Would want to go out with someone like him.

A lowlife from the Sea of Sands.

An only child who lived in a sea of junk.

And he wanted to hate her.

Oh, how he wanted to hate her. 

He wanted to hate her for everything that she was worth.

How dare she make him feel things?

How dare she make him feel things that he accepted that he wouldn't?

It wasn't fair.

It wasn't fair that she did this to him.

It wasn't fair that she wasn't even aware that she did this to him.

But he learned to suffer in silence.

Well, silence in his own mind.

He still talked more than anyone else in his entire crew.

But maybe that was because he didn't want to face the truth.

To face the truth that he was in love with his teammate's sister.

He couldn't be so selfish as to come to admit that to anyone.

Not even himself.

Especially not himself. 

If he actually admitted it to himself, then he wouldn't be able to stop pursing her.

And he should stop pursuing her.

There was nothing that he could offer.

Not really. 

But still...

Somewhere deep in heart....

He knew that he wouldn't be able to hide it forever.

Especially now.

Especially in this moment.

In a moment where she basked in eternal beauty.

Where she looked her age, not the age of 1000 years.

Where she looked innocent.

Where she got the innocence back of her childhood that was wrongfully taken from her.

And his feet felt heavy as he approached her.

But he couldn't help it.

Not when she looked as peaceful as she did in that moment.

So here he stood, their arms barely brushing against each other.

His throat felt as though it was closing off.

His heart was once again beating off and out of his chest.

And blood rushed to his cheeks.

He would say it was from the cold.

(That would be a lie.)

And she would look his way and....

And her smile would light up the entire area.

Her hand clutching his arm while she eagerly gestured towards the sky.

And he glanced at the sky to humor her.

Because he didn't have a brain when it came to her apparently.

But it was worth it when she would start rambling.

Rambling about the constellations.

Rambling about the myths and the legends.

Rambling about the facts about them.

And his eyes would slowly look away from the sky.

Instead, they would look at her facial features.

Because he knew...

In that moment...

It was love.

For if it was a night full of stars....

He should be able to look at them clearly just like he had always been able to do.

Instead, though....

All he could do was look at her.