In clear nights, she flew whimsically, as if she was playing with the wind and flirting with the constellations. From here, atop a building and watching her from below, it looked like she was kissing stars, blessing them with a single second of her attention before prancing to the next. In this moment, he wished he was in the stars, too. With her, flying, sharing a moment and perhaps a kiss.
Oh, a kiss. He wanted one of those. But only from her. He could imagine it right now. His hand lacing through the soft, silky feeling of her vermillion curls, his palm to her waist, feeling the heat radiant from her exposed skin, and her lavender lips against his, giving him the faintest taste of strawberries. He could call to her, beckon her presence to float towards him, and he was positive that she'd oblige, but that would ruin the elation she felt and it would ruin the sight he was being privileged with. And how could he live with himself if he ever brought her even the slightest amount of displeasure? He couldn't.
So, he gazed upon her distant figure, smiling to himself at the little dips she'd do in the sky and the twirls she'd make when the wind hit her differently. Every now and then, if the world below was quiet enough, he could hear her laughter. It came in faraway giggling waves, but each time he heard it, something in his heart fluttered and skipped a beat, then his body would warm. The thought of her doing little mundane things was his own brand of liquid sunshine. She was the personification of the first ray of light that peeks through the curtains and hits your skin, warming you up and reminding you of the simple joy of being alive when the day becomes anew. At least that's how he viewed her.
Maybe he loved her a bit too much, maybe his heart yearned for all of her more than he ever thought it would, but was that such a bad thing? Love in a hero's life tended to be painted as a catastrophe; a blind fool's wish for tragedy. They'd say that a relationship, when you're a hero, is too risky, that fate would strike the match of loss and set fire to the future. And maybe, if destiny is truly that dastardly, their love would become engulfed by flames, crumbling to ashes and dust. Another torched dream.
But what if it didn't happen? What if that was just the nightmares fear burned into his brain? What if that was all the voices telling him that this love was never meant to be? What if love intertwined with his future could turn out sweet? She believed it. She believed in fairytales, in endings that turned good. She believed in all the things that books and movies want you to. Was that her optimistic view though? Perhaps a bit so, but maybe he needed to get some of that, too. What's wrong with optimism? What's wrong in believing that life cannot be all bad and that there must be some good somewhere?
"May I bestow you with a penny for your thoughts?" Her voice was saccharine, accompanied by eyes that shone with delicate adoration that was beaming just for him. Her beauty was ethereal; she was the divine beauty that great poets would write tales about.
He smiled at her, heart beating with the anticipation of getting near her. Hell, even hearing her voice was making his blood pump faster. "I was just thinking about you and how absolutely stunning you look up there." Call it flirting if you must, but it was sincere truth that stained his tongue. "I didn't mean to interrupt you though. I didn't think you'd notice I was watching."
"I always notice when you watch, but I do not mind. I find it quite cute that you take interest in what I do when the sun has left us and the moon is gracing us." The smile that arose to the curve of her lips was a sight to behold. It only forced his grin wider, but if that was the consequence of knowing her, then so be it.
Pull it together, Grayson. She can probably hear your heartbeat.
"You just look so peaceful up there in the stars, like you have no worries and that everything is beautiful." He mused, wondering for a brief moment what that would feel like. Stress tended to underline his life and become the foundation his days were built upon, but when he was up here, watching her, he could feel time and worries strip away from him. Maybe it was because of her. Maybe she was the peace in all the pressure the world forced.
"Because everything is beautiful." She floated closer and closer until the distance between them became measurable only by centimeters. "Life is not as dreadful as you believe it to be sometimes; the world can be a beautiful place." She reached for his hand, fingers skimming across his palm.
Her touch sent shivers down his spine. It was light like feathers, but the reaction it inflicted upon him resembled something more along the lines of a hurricane. She was a fatality, a golden star of destruction, yet her heart was dipped in crystalized honey. How could someone so powerful be this sweet?
He leaned up, brushing his mouth against hers. The flames in his heart ignited, devouring him up until his flesh was searing. He felt her giggle against his lips, pulling away and offering him her hand.
"Would you like to take a dip in the stars with me?"
The offer enthralled him. "Only if it means I get to kiss you."
As laughter laced her voice, she spoke in a mellifluous tone that teased, "I suppose that would be okay."
With that, she pressed her mouth to his. He could taste the strawberries on her lips and within a second, he was intoxicated by her. His arms snaked around her, fingertips drawing mindless patterns across her back. His mind was so captivated by her and the taste that constantly lingered upon her lips that he hadn't noticed his body slowly lifting from the rooftop. It was only when the wind grew a bit stronger and held more chill than normally that he realized they were thousands of feet above the city. Now he was the one kissing a star.
And after hours of being in the stars with her, he understood why she found it so pleasant. The world was smaller up here, his heart was lighter up here, love felt stronger up here, and everything felt more tranquil up here. Maybe time was best spent up in the stars with her.