[APH] Drabbles

Russia x Reader - To Catch a Star

If you wish upon a star, you thought, recalling the old saying, your dreams come true. The same line would be heard in movies galore, you don't even remember if it sprung from a film or if Walt Disney himself came up with it—either way it was in your mind now. 

Stars had nothing to do with dreams, so wishing on them had no effect. That didn't change the fact that they were pretty to look at. No, that was fact—pure and simple. People needed air to breath; the ocean needed water to be, and the sky needed stars speckled across it. Plain and simple. 

If only it was simple. Another day passed, said stars were out, and you were standing in a vast field, walking towards god-knows-what. The grass was high, but you wore long jeans to keep the bottom of your legs from getting scratched. No animals in sight, but you could have sworn you had heard an owl cooing in the dark moments ago. 

Step, step, higher step, shuffle, shuffle, stop. Something was in your path. Face to face with a tall man—whose silvery hair glimmered in the night—you froze. It was cold enough for the small grass to freeze, stiffened by the lack of warmth in its single tendril, but that wasn't the way you froze. You froze like a deer who heard a branch break and that was a position you wished you were in. 

No, this was a man, you were stiffened with fear, and the stars kept shining—fact.

"What do you think you are doing?" He asked. 

His voice was higher than expected, but you wouldn't question that. You definitely were not going to tell him the real reason for you being out tonight either. "Taking a walk." You muttered, walking around him while ignoring the tingling of your back. Even your skin did not trust this man. 

"It's late, it's dangerous. You shouldn't be out here." 

You sighed and kept walking, not missing a beat. "It's late, it's dangerous. Maybe you shouldn't be out here."

He didn't move, not an inch. He stood and watched as you raced away, adrenaline pumping through your teenage veins. 

Step, step, higher step, shuffle, shuffle, hum, stop. There it was, sooner than you had thought. You weren't close enough to make it—or so you thought. You ran with determination, the adrenaline proving useful. The top of the hill, the top of the hill. You couldn't stop until you reached it. 

Humming, humming, it kept moving along. Steady and slow, only one place to go. You on the other hand had a few on your map. The hill, the panel, the stars. Sweet and simple; simple and sweet. 

Almost there, almost there. It was just in your reach, you had climbed the hill in the right time, the right time. Time, to catch it. The hum was now a roar, like a big, big, large beast. And all it would take is the separation of ground and feet. A jump. 

You hadn't noticed it, but the man from before had followed you up; he knew of your situation, he knew of your goal. Lucky for you, he hadn't a problem with it, and when the panel passed by, he gave you a shove, up. And up you went, followed by the man with sil-ver-y hair and the tiny voice that you hadn't a problem with. 

Hands reaching out, grabbing at the old and wooden bridge, this hung connected only by the rope between each rotten block. The stranger held onto the same bridge, and you quickly moved up in hopes to keep it from snapping. Quickly, quickly, one hand after the other, a boost from your legs here and there—the only way up.  

The panel, your feet stuck. Followed by the man, his thud, and grunt. Black ground, black ground, a flicker and clear. Now you could see the beneath, and all beneath the panel. The field with tall grass and the hill were nothing but the past, and you were on the panel, so close to where you need be. 

"You should have told me." He said; said he. 

You turned to him and looked, confused at his calm attitude to the crime you were about to commit. "Why would I? You could have easily turned me in if I did."

"I wouldn't." He took a heavy step, "The stars want to be free, so why not let them?" 

A step from you, not sure of the panel, but a step in the direction of the stars. "It isn't season-"

"They don't control the season; they did not create the stars." 

Heavy strides from the two of you as you tried to keep from sight. One blazing of an alarm and you would be through. You did not wish that. 

Step, step, quiet step, shuffle, shuffle, stop. There, it is, there, it shines. And nothing but the thin, white strings can keep it from its place in time. Time does not stop for one, but the steadfast bond to one point can keep a body in place. Time doesn't stop, it doesn't stop. 

Scissors, from your pocket, you eyed one of the stars. Ready to strike at any moment, ready to set it free. The man watched you, prepared to help if it need be. It would not, you knew. 

Run, run, jump. Catch the thin, razor sharp wires. The seemingly soft strings, which had teeth so razor sharp. The teeth of the wire gnashed at your hand, and the burning sensation made you hiss, but you did not stop. Not until the star was free, and in return you were free. 

Taking hold of your scissors, you cut the bonds holding the star. It struggled, tugging away from the earth. Another wire was cut, then one more. And with that one more, the star was off. Down you fell, caught only by the smooth hands of a strange man, who pulled you back onto the panel. 

A breath, another. In and out, smooth trails of gaseous life. You felt it. The peaceful intoxication that was a star's thanks. It was bliss. Eyes closed, you watched as the pastels and the neons danced on the tops of your eye lids. And the tiny tune, different to each star you saved, rang out. 

All at once the moment faded, all at once you were back. And it was lonely, and the sky was black. You smelled the smoke and heard the hums of the panels, the panels that held the stars back. Your hand stung, and it would for a while. Standing, walking, being followed; the stranger.

"Thank you for catching me." You said. 

He smiled and began to run. The sirens whaled. "Thank you for letting me come along." A shout, as you followed him.

Run. 

To catch a star is to set yourself free, to release it is to set your soul free.