Three years.
Seventy-two meteor showers.
Lovino had managed to only visit twice so far in the three years, and both times Antonio had regretfully been asleep.
The first visit had been in the middle of Antonio's senior year of high school, when he'd woken up to get ready for the first day back after winter break and found his dark room glowing with floating yellow tufts. He'd trapped one in his hands like catching a firefly, began to cry when its soft warmth tickled the palms of his hands. The literal stardust huddled in the darkest corners of his bedroom, clung to the walls, burrowed into the deep folds of his blankets.
There were melting puddles of slush on the floorboards, footprints rimmed with golden embers.
Like they had traveled about his room, had stalled by his bedside to sit on the edge with him.
A piece of folded notebook paper had been placed on his bookbag with the creases worn thin and the sheet yellowed and soft around the edges. Two boxes, one patch of dandelions blowing away and the other burning. A message in the corner. Don't be upset, you needed the sleep. Love you.
When Antonio came home that same day after school, he went to his room and found the stardust reduced to ashes in the sunlight, the footprints dried hours before.
The second visit had been after Antonio had settled into his first apartment. A brick building in the downtown area with just a five minute bus ride to his college campus and a ten minute bus ride to the house where he'd grown up, he could see between the buildings the rolling meadow and the lining of the woods where everyone had gathered for the meteor shower. The destructive starry night.
His apartment was minimalist. His bed was just a mattress on the floor. Enough dishes for one. He only kept his nicer clothes hanging in the bedroom closet. No TV, but his aged laptop served for entertainment when it wasn't being used for college work. His alarm clock was balanced on a cookbook, a mythology book, an old, favorite novel, and a couple of thick astronomy books.
Antonio had woken up that morning, the curtains drawn to make his room dark. The lights were flickering, dying.
The overhead light. His laptop. His lamp. The kitchen lights. The bathroom lights.
More stardust. Mostly ashes.
One of the astronomy books was open to its glossary. A yellow highlighter had rolled away to rest against his stack of school books, uncapped and dry. Two words and their definitions, staring back at him like blinding city lights.
aphelion - noun - the point in the orbit of a planet, asteroid, or comet at which it is furthest from the sun.
perihelion - noun - the point in the orbit of a planet, asteroid, or comet at which it is closest to the sun.
Lovino was coming home.
A couple months later.
Classes were done for the day. He made a detour to the well in the woods.
It was overflowing with stardust.
It was Saturday. A soft, autumn Saturday. The fluffy dandelions on the floor beside his mattress in a glass of sugared water were dying.
Antonio laid awake in bed, one arm behind his head and the other absentmindedly cradling the charm necklace. The trinkets were cold and worn against his fingertips. A seashell. An anchor. A star. A heart. A teal bead. A paper clip hanging on a safety pin.
The curtains were open and the sunlight drizzled in, bright and sleepy. He was warm, and moved to curl up under the thin, navy blanket.
It was one in the afternoon, and suddenly there came a tapping.
Antonio almost answered the door without putting on a shirt. Light gray. The charms glinted. His hair was a mess.
He approached the door again, his feet bare and the floorboards cold. He twisted the doorknob and threw open the door curiously. He inhaled sharply.
Lovino smiled faintly, one hand balancing a white pizza box and the other cradling two bottles of orange soda. "I didn't think it'd be that busy." he quoted warmly. "I hope you're fine with pepperoni?"
It was two in the morning. The sun had been replaced with rain. It had been raining for hours… Antonio was playing gentle, scratchy music on his laptop.
Lovino leaned against Antonio, arms around his neck loosely. Antonio held him close. Their slow kisses tasted like sugary orange as they rocked in time with the song.
"Just like July, hm?" Antonio mumbled in-between kisses. A single night of dancing in the rain.
Lovino moved one hand to Antonio's hair, head resting slightly against Antonio's as he smiled. "Mm… Not really."
Antonio sighed, laughing softly. "... How are you here right now?" he whispered instead after a moment. "It's been three years, and there's gotta be so many more wishes, I'm sure."
Lovino hummed softly, embracing Antonio tightly. "Yeah, but I saved the best for last." he murmured. "You're not alone, and I won't be leaving any time soon."
A/N - So... A long time ago, a couple people mentioned a sequel. I thought about it yet honestly thought I would never do it because I liked it so much as a one-shot... but then inspiration hit, and I was screwed.
It's short, yeah, but I hope you enjoyed it! :D
