Summary: Sunati wants to fall in love under the starlight, but in The City, there's nothing but a technological expanse.
Rated: K
Genre: Fluff
Author's Note: I took a bit of artist walkingnorth's Always Human world and built things into: specifically a planetarium in a government sanctioned green zone. Also, this is at some point before Sunati and Austen actually meet, when she has a pink and yellow theme instead of her blue mods.
Dedicated to tumblr user walkingnorth.
The Lumen Dome Observatorystood out like a round, chrome moon, glimmering high up on Retno Hill, roof partially open to reveal the large lens of a telescope.
It was situated right in the center of the green zone, a large, shining monument on the highest hill, with a spiraling hypoallergenic dirt path build from the four entrances to its four doors, curving and winding around and around in quadruple spirals.
Sunati found herself there now, waiting in a short line mostly filled with couples. "Next patron please," a mechanical voice called: it was a child-sized robot, with wide neon blue yes and a smiling faceplate. Sunati swiped her wrist past the payment kiosk, and a beep sounded before a hard plastic, recyclable ticket popping out of a slim slot. She pocketed it, tucking a strand of bright, blonde and pink hair back behind her ear.
She walked into the center of the room, the soft buzz of conversation filling her ears as people passed around her, going to the observatory, the small museum, and her destination of choice, the planetarium. Blinking rose pink eyes, Sunati directed herself towards there, humming softly as she walked.
As a child, Sunati had fond memories of the dark, octagonal room: memories of holding her father's hand, squeezing it as the Milky Way spiraled by, a whirl of massive, spinning planets and a black, silken expanse of matter. It had always made her lips part in wonder, even when her father took her for the fiftieth, sixtieth, and eventually eightieth time.
Even now, she felt a childhood excitement bubble up in her, a
"Oh, excuse me!" A voice –female, Sunati assumed– sounded and a figure passed by, blue, red and yellow Dilithium United College hoodie registering right after she stumbled into the theater. Sunati murmured a reply and walked in, thick eyebrows raised curiously.
Sunati chose seat in the center, between the entrance and exit: high enough that the ambient light of late comers wouldn't ruin the view, but not so high she'd need to quick purchase a Motion Sickness Patch. The theater was already filling up: a surprise on a Friday night, especially when the hoverclubs were up in the sky, offering vivid views of the cityscape below. She was glad she hadn't stalled much longer, otherwise her prized perch would've been taken.
Settling in, Sunati checked the time: three minutes before the hour long show would begin, sweeping her into the Old World galaxies and her own galaxy of Myrmidon, one of the new conquests that Earth had found and colonized on planet Aizuno, a mirror of Earth herself. Earth, of course, was still around, but was not a nature preserve, a planet of green flora and vivid fauna, all which would be shown in the display.
A sharp, booming sneeze echoed suddenly, and Sunati's head jerked up, trying to find the source. Across the way, a girl was rubbing furiously at her nose, right hand digging in her purse for a pack of tissues. She yanked one out and blew into it, driving two patrons with disgusted faces two rows away. "It's natural!" the girl exclaimed, rolling her eyes. Sunati readily agreed.
The girl had thick, wavy, mahogany hair, with blunt bangs that fell a hand's width from a nose –situated between a spree of freckles– that was wrinkled up from the cold of the theater. Sunati took a second glance and realized she had on the hoodie on, bright primary colors loud, even with the girls muted black pants. The girl's nose wrinkled again and she sneezed, shivering audibly form the cold needed to keep the machines running constantly and stave off overheating. Like most people, Sunati didn't feel the cold: she'd bought a temporary Temperature Patch at the entrance as part of the ticket package, making the cold air feel like a pleasant seventy degrees until she left the astronomy complex.
Sunati finally met the girl's eyes met across the planetarium, right before the room went dark: bright, tawny meeting Sunati's pink, a small, peach tone hand waving at her, blue hoodie cuff shifting up her soft arm. Somehow, Sunati made her hand work, lifting it up and offering a week wave back. She heard a ping in her ears that signaled the temperature rising, and felt a blotchy wave of blush tickle her temple, nose, and ears.
The girl smiled then, right as the light disappeared, a flash of perfect, white teeth aimed Sunati's way. Sunati let out a soft gasp as the ceiling transformed into a swirl of stars, and felt her heart skip a beat.