Seeker: So this thing is six months in the making, and I apologize for the wait; writer's block and separation from Owl kinda knocked my muse out cold for a while there.

Owl: But now that we are back together at college, please expect more. A lot more. We planned a lot.

Seeker: So enjoy, and look to the future! As usual, we don't own anything.

Owl: Read the bottom comments. Thank you.

OvO

The meteor shower was an annual event, occurring in the sky over Lakeland in the late spring of every year. Watching the gleaming meteors criss-cross the sky from the grass of the football field had long been a tradition for students attending Starclan Academy, and tonight the turf was dotted with blankets, youths sprawled out on them and staring up, waiting the fall of that first star. There were no teachers- officially, the observation of the meteor shower wasn't a school function- but almost all of the students were in attendance anyway, almost as though it were a mandatory assembly. Like Senior-Skip-Day, it was a tradition that needed little enforcement.

Fireheart and Sandstorm had arrived at the field early enough- and had enough seniority- that they'd manage to claim the coveted space near the home goal posts. They had forgotten to bring a blanket, and were stretched out in opposite directions on the grass, heads together so that red tufts of his hair mingled with the long sandy strands of hers. They were bickering softly over who would drive home and whether to get milkshakes or smoothies on the way, and every now and again Sandstorm reached up to swat his shoulder or arm in irritation. He caught her hand the third time, holding it against the side of his head with his fingers wrapped lightly around her wrist, and decided he would take her to Starclan's coffee, risking the crowd that always seemed to populate the café in exchange for her favorite smoothie flavor. Near them, out of the way in the shadows of the goal posts, Ravenpaw and Princess shared a bowl of popcorn between them, blushing and avoiding each other's eyes every times their hands crossed paths amid the buttery kernels. Then the first meteors began to fall, and their eyes moved to the sky. Their hands remained on the edges of the bowl, fingers just touching.

At the opposite end of the field- because she didn't like the vibe around the home goal posts- Bluestar sat on her knees, arms draped around Oakheart's neck as she stared up at the sky, blue eyes wide as saucers. She was mumbling alien trivia and nervous conjectures about what kind occupied the meteors in his ear, and he wrapped his hands around her arms, thumbs rubbing soothingly against the blue cloth of her sweatshirt. "I'm sure they're friendly." He told her with a slight grin, and rested his forehead briefly against her jaw. She giggled, only slightly hysterically, and crowded closer to him to rest her chin on his shoulder.

At the foot of the bleachers, Floss and Smokey sat side by side, leaning back against the lowest tier and casting worried glances over at Sol and Speckle, disapproval and concern clouding their faces as they watched the younger girl cling to the older boy's arm. He was smiling charmingly down at her, delighting her with stories from Thunderpath High, amusement clear on his smug features. A little ways from them, still close enough to be considered part of the group, Snowfur an Poppydawn lay on their backs, discussing one of the shows that Poppydawn had insisted they needed to watch. Snowfur was two episodes behind and obviously confused as Poppydawn plowed ahead with details, outlining everything that had happened in the previous night's episode while still staring up at the sky.

"It's beautiful." Brightheart murmured, and Cloudtail hugged her tighter, pulling her back against his chest. She could feel her hat where he'd stuffed it into the chest pocket of his shirt, but hiding her face didn't seem as important when she was safe in the circle of his arms and the sky was filled with thousands of dancing diamonds. "So are you." He whispered in her ear, and then kissed the top of it. She blushed, but kept her eyes trained on the sky. She took a deep breath, breathing in the smell of the grass and Cloudtail's shampoo, and followed the progress of the brightest meteor she could find. She tried to think of a wish, but Cloudtail tightened his arms and pressed another kiss to her temple, and she couldn't think of anything worth wishing for in that moment.

Graystripe's gang had all come together in his big truck, and they'd spread out several blankets and someone's mother's tablecloth to create a patchwork big enough for all of them to sprawl out on comfortably, near the middle of the field. Graystripe had claimed the center of the blanket spread without much protest, and Millie sat slouched against his chest, arms resting lightly across her drawn-up knees. The others, Toadstep, Foxleap, Molepaw and Minnowtail, were fanned out in a crooked semi-circle around them, passing bags of gummy bears and potato chips between them. Molepaw kept yelling across the field, disturbing the peace in an attemp to convince Cherrypaw, his sister, to leave the cheerleader's blankets and join them instead.

"Twenty-seven, thirty, thirty-five-" Squirrelflight's quiet voice was rapid enough as she counted that the words came out almost on top of each other, and Brambleclaw had given up really trying to listen some time before. He'd asked her why she was doing it, and she'd explained that Leafpool had told her once that only a certain number of meteors fell during each shower, and she wanted to prove her sister wrong. So they sat back to back almost in the middle of the field, their hands linked as she frantically tried to count every falling star. Every few minutes, she would lose count, and begin again with a giggle. "Seventeen." He threw in numbers sometimes, just to see if he could trip her up, and this time she hissed at him, squeezing his hand irritably, before starting again. "Two, seven, twelve-"

Though they'd forgotten to bring a blanket, Blackfoot and Tawnypelt lay side by side in the grass by the fifty yard line, stretched out on their backs and staring up. Russetfur sat cross-legged at their heads, talking animatedly with Blackfoot about the new car he was working on restoring in the shop and her upcoming stint in boot camp. Tawnypelt listened without saying much, content to hear them chatter as she watched the stars fall; it had been a long time since Blackfoot and Russetfur had been so relaxed around each other- not since she'd announced joining the military- and Tawnypelt was grateful that they finally seemed to have come to an understanding.

"Does your sister always take on futile challenges?" Crowfeather asked, glancing down at Leafpool. She was stretched out on their quilt on her side with one hand under her ribs to give her a little comfort against the ground, which was cold and prickly despite the blanket. Her brown hair fanned out on the slightly darker fabric, and her boyfriend lay against her back, one arm propping up his head so that he could see her face, the other draped loosely around her waist. She gave him a soft smile as she looked back at him, green eyes reflecting the glittering shower above. She nodded in answer to his question, and he leaned down to press his forehead to her temple, his hand finding her fingers under her ribs and twining them with his.

Ferncloud was humming. Dustpelt could just barely hear it over the murmurs of his shop class buddies, who were huddled beside them playing cards, but she was definitely humming. He could feel the vibration of it in his chest. He was lying on his back in the grass, his arms around her waist with her sprawled on top of him, her cheek against his collarbone. He closed his eyes to listen better, hands moving absently up and down her sides. She felt so tiny in his arms, so fragile. It was a lullaby that she was humming, something soft and sweet that would lull him into a doze if he let it. He forced his eyes open again before it could and stared back up at the sky, but a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He only looked down at his friends when he heard several of them start to cuss. He was about to call them out on it when he realized they were playing poker and Ferncloud had won the pot, and Ashfur was out almost two hundred dollars; the rest hadn't fared much better. He smirked.

Mothwing had opted to sit on the bleachers at the edge of the field, mostly because they were closer to the restrooms than the rest of the field, a handy thing when she had her little brother in tow. She'd expected to sit alone, tending Tadpole, but Leopardfur had joined her almost as soon as she sat down. Leopardfur was a gossip queen, and Mothwing really wasn't that interested in digging up dirt on any of her classmates, but the other girl's voice filled the quiet with amusing commentary, and she was more than happy to hold Tadpole every now and again when Mothwing's arms started to fall asleep. It was…nice, to have someone who understood her reticence and was willing to do most of the talking. And some of the stories were funny enough that she nearly spewed her soda out her nose.

Daisy and Spiderleg had only recently gotten back together after their last rather explosive fight, and as a result they were being even more cuddly and kissy than usual, muttering sweet nothings in each other's ears and promising never to break up again as they say snuggled together, paying very little attention to the light show going on above. Behind their backs, Birchfall and Whitewing were mimicking their kissy faces and miming gagging while Mousewhisker kept a hand clapped over his mouth in an attempt to avoid laughing. Thornclaw was smirking amusedly and stealing not-so-subtle glances as Hazeltail, who was snickering openly at the antics of her friends, making no attempt to hide her mirth; Spiderleg and Daisy didn't seem to have noticed.

Sitting on the edge of the track that encircled the field, Tigerheart and Dovewing sat facing each other, playing slaps and singing along to every obnoxious pop song that happened to come on the portable radio they'd brought. Tigerheart generally preferred rock, but thanks to his sister he knew the words to almost every song that played, and he had a good singing voice when he tried. Dove smiled at him, singing along softly because he'd insisted that if she wanted him to sing, she had to as well. Both of them were horrible at slaps, and before too long they resorted to rock-paper-scissors to break their stalemate.

Littlecloud was wandering all over the field, never staying on place too long and introducing Fallen Leaves, who was following politely after him with his hands in his pockets, to anyone who would listen. Littlecloud's family had hosted several exchange students over the years, and no one was surprised that Fallen Leaves was staying with them as well. He'd already met most of the people Littlecloud introduced him to at least in passing, but he didn't have any desire to rain on the other boy's parade and just nodded his head and shook hands politely, all the while looking around to see if he could find the dark-haired girl- Hollyleaf?- who he'd rescued from a locker the week before.

Near the away team's goal posts, not far from Bluestar and Oakheart, Jayfeather and his group sat sprawled in the grass, having forgone blankets. Blossomfall sat cross-legged, painting Briarlight's nails with little sparkly comet patterns in honor of the occasion. Jayfeather was lying nearby on his back in the grass, his head resting on Willowshine's leg as he argued movie trivia with Bumblestripe, a cookie from the plate Rosepetal had brought clutched in one hand so that he could gesture at the other boy with it. The plate itself rested on his stomach, and Rose sat on the other side of him, talking to Willowshine about their senior projects. Both girls were ignoring the boys completely, save for Willowshine's fingers stroking through Jayfeather's hair. Briarlight kept glancing over at them, unsure whether or not to be jealous of how comfortable Willowshine looked in Jayfeather's company and only half-listening to whatever her sister was saying to her.

Lionblaze and Cinderheart had both fallen asleep in each other's arms not long after the stars started to fall across the sky, and both their blanket and cooler had long since vanished, appropriated by some other member of the crowd for their own use.

In the bleachers, as far away from everyone else as was physically possible, Breezepelt and Ivyppool sat together. He was one bench up from her, arms wrapped around her shoulders as she leaned back against him. Her eyes were fixed on the sky, but his head was bowed, forehead pressed against the side of her neck. Every now and then she would turn her head and kiss his hair before returning her attention to the meteors soaring by above.

The cheerleaders were all grouped together in front of the scoreboard. Silverstream sat up on her knees, braiding Icecloud's hair and talking about the choreography they were working on for their next competition, trying to keep the younger girl's mind off guys, which was the main topic of conversation in the rest of the group. Nightcloud, Heathertail, and Spottedleaf were all discussing boys and their shortcomings, sounding bitter and irritable. Cherrypaw was the only other girl not participating in the conversation; instead, she was yelling back and forth with her brother, trying to convince him to bring her one of Cinderheart's cupcakes, which Graystripe and his gang were devouring as fast as they could.

"Come back here!" Sorreltail half-yelled, half-laughed as she chased after Rainwhisker, who was dodging around groups of people and hiding behind coolers, giggling maniacally in the way only a seven-year-old can. Behind Sorreltail, Brackenfur followed at a trot, Soorfur on his shoulders and both of them laughing at her attempts to corral the other twin. "I said come here!" Rainwhisker just giggled and scurried on past Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw, who paused their conversation to laugh.

Kestralflight and Flametail sat together, heads bent over the next year's anatomy text book. No one could figure out how they'd gotten it, and they refused to tell, but they'd been carrying the thing everywhere for the past week, passing it back and forth between them and quizzing each other on various diagrams. In between questions, Kestralflight would glance over at Dawnpelt, then blush and look away again. Flametail pretended not to notice, but his eyes twinkled.

"No. It's weird." Hawkfrost shook his head vehemently, leaning away from Feathertail, who smiled cheekily and leaned closer, reaching up to touch his face lightly. "Just try it!" she insisted. He huffed, but his cheeks flushed and he gave in, reluctantly leaning close enough to brush his nose against hers. Eskimo kissing was just weird… Behind them, Brook kept an arm wrapped firmly around Stormfur's biceps, murmuring softly in his ear that he was to let them alone as he tried to pull away, his face dark as he glared at the jerk that was freaking flirting with his sister. On Hawkfrost and Feathertail's other side, Rowanclaw sat with his phone out, cheerfully videotaping his friend's embarrassment; he could always use more blackmail material.

Behind the home goal, almost not on the field at all, Poppyfrost sat with a sketchpad open in her lap and a stick of charcoal in her hand, drawing out a likeness of the falling meteors in dark lines. Berrynose and Honeyfern sat at either of her shoulders, Berrynose peering interestedly at her work while Honeyfern propped her back against her sister's side and flipped pages in the magazine she'd brought with her. A little ways from them, Jet and Hollyleaf sat facing each other, knees touching as they argued over literally nothing. Occasionally, Dawnpelt, who was stretched out on her back nearby fiddling with an old watch and a set of tiny screwdrivers would throw in a comment, fanning the flames of the argument whenever it threatened to subside.

The meteor shower lasted well past midnight, and the gathering lasted as long as the shower itself. The next day half of the students were absent from class, and those who attended kept dozing off in their chairs, too exhausted to make the attempt to stay awake through classes such as math and science. The only ones who were awake and alert were Cinderheart and Lionblaze, who had slept through the majority of the shower. They'd woken to find their cooler next to them, completely empty, with their blanket folded neatly on top. It took them two weeks to find out who had eaten all their food. Cinderheart had to write out her cupcake recipe eight times.

OvO

Owl: We decided to give everyone what they wanted and just throw everybody in this one.

Seeker: Which is one of the reasons it took so freaking long. But there it is.

Owl: We are also using this chapter to not-so-subtly hint at our tumblr account, where you can ask literally anything. Characters, where we plan to go with them, headcanons, prompts… and even other non-warriors questions if you desire. Assuming you know how tumblr urls work, our page is owl-seeker-and-kitten. So go there.

Seeker: Also, still planning a sequel to this, which is them all grown up and will be a lil more mature. We plan to post chapters to AO3 or tumblr, and will let you know when we do so.

Owl: So check them out and review!

Seeker: Ps; the tumblr's still brand new, so we'd appreciate people sending us stuff. Hint hint. Thanx.

~Seeker and Owl