A/N: As per usual, all emojis will be in brackets with the appropriate description/translation.

Last week of July, Summer Session C

Soon enough, Gren was in the rhythm of summer: work, school, studying, cleaning the apartment, cooking (very basic meals), and trying to stay in touch with friends and family.

Since he started work early, he was on the road before city traffic had time to build up and he was able to get out of the city onto the wooded back roads quickly. In fact, his morning commute was only about twenty minutes total. In contrast, the afternoon commute was typically fifty minutes due to city traffic building up.

Thankfully, work was going well. Gren was currently working at one of the newer military bases located in a forested area just outside of the city, and he was quickly becoming reacquainted with all of the security protocols involved when working on a military base. First, he needed to drive through security to get onto the base, go to the building he was specifically working at, go through entrance security - where he needed to go through a metal detector and badge check, and then enter into the official building entrance - a large enclosed courtyard that held lockers along the perimeter and simultaneously served as the entry point to the food court, the attached employee gym, and access to the more secure areas of the building. Lastly, he needed to go through additional badge and device check before entering the secure, attached, building.

The secured building of the military base had tinted windows along the perimeter, regular office hallways, but a lot of the spaces had no windows to the outside, at best a window into the hallway, if any at all. To keep up morale, the "public" areas, such as the courtyard entrance, tried to be cheery. It had vaulted ceilings several stories high with reinforced glass at the top to let in as much natural light as possible, there were even plants inside separating groups of tables - small trees and shrubs, as well as pathways to the other areas of interest like the locker storage and the employee gym entrance. It always felt like a breath of fresh air compared to some of the rooms he worked in.

Lunch was a routine he was getting used to, too. Any device that emitted a GPS signal was not allowed in the areas he worked in and Gren needed to store his phone in his locker before entering the secure section of the base in the morning. Due to his locker being near the food court, Gren had a habit of checking his phone right before lunch began. Since Gren's work day started early it meant he would text Corvus first thing in the morning (probably before Corvus would wake up) with a well wish for the day, and lately (and he was proud of his phone skills for this one) attached an encouraging gif image or funny picture. Corvus, in turn, would text him back with a funny gif or picture and something about his day, and Gren would have the opportunity to read it at lunch. Even if the morning had been rough or rushed, a text from Corvus always put him in a good mood. Over the past two weeks, however, Corvus had been out camping and had spotty reception. So while getting a text was rare, he checked all the same - just in case.

Gren opened his locker, turned on his phone, checked it, and was surprised to see a message waiting for him.

"I [think] I get recep here. [Fingers crossed] this goes through. [Camping] is [thumbs up]. Should b [home] by Sat [night]. Vid chat then?"

Gren grinned widely as he texted back, "It went through! :) Definitely up for video chatting on Saturday! :) I'm glad to hear camping is going well! Text when you get back on Saturday to let me know what time is best. If you need to rest, that's understandable too," he sent.

He turned off his phone, put it back in his locker and turned the dial to lock it. He returned to Amaya, who was towards the middle of the food court deciding what to eat. Now that his clearance level was higher, he found himself working with General Amaya more frequently, and more often than not, they were able to eat lunch together.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Gren signed.

"You're fine. I'm still deciding," She signed with a smile.

After picking their meals, they met back up and found a spot to eat in a more private area of the food court.

"You're still extra smiley," Amaya commented once they sat down for lunch. "I know it wasn't from this morning."

That was true. Today had been his first time translating for Amaya in front of Representative Viren. The conversation revolved around the routine operations of the facility, but Viren was still rather…unpleasant. The current rumor was that the former Lord Viren had stepped down from his position in the House of Gentry and took a position in the lower house as a representative so he could one day secure the Prime Minister position. Gren hoped that it stayed as a rumor, although he feared that was unlikely.

Bringing himself back to Amaya's statement, and back to Corvus' text, Gren looked down at his food, pasta with a side of strawberries and spinach salad, and iced tea, he could feel his cheeks heat up.

"I'm usually in a good mood for lunch," he smiled to himself, and tried to focus on his lunch because he knew Amaya could read him well and he wasn't sure if he was ready to answer any more questions, and if he couldn't see her sign questions, then he didn't have to answer them, right?

But Amaya was having no part of that; she tapped the back of his hand, forcing him to look up. "And any special reason why…?" she signed, "I would like to be in a good mood like that, what's your secret?" She winked.

His secret? His secret was that he received a text from Corvus and any day that happened it always made the day brighter and his heart race.

He felt his face grow even hotter as he took another bite of his food.

But how to explain that..?

When he looked up at Amaya again she was more tense than before; she removed her uniform glove, reached over and placed the back of her hand on his forehead. "Are you sick?" she signed after checking his forehead temperature, her eyes showed concern, and Gren couldn't worry her further.

"Corvus," He spelled out for emphasis, before returning to using their previously established initialization as a wiggled "C" close to his heart for Corvus' name when signing. "We text every day. I get to read Corvus' texts at the beginning of lunch," he signed his explanation, still very much aware of his flushed face. "It puts me in a good mood." He didn't want to further explain that he hadn't heard from Corvus much while camping due to poor reception so actually hearing from him really made his day.

Amaya's eyes widened a little and she seemed a little taken aback as she processed the information before a wide smile slowly started spreading across her face. "Really?" she asked with a smirk and raised an eyebrow, "Please, elaborate."

Gren laughed and looked at his plate, before looking back at his friend and mentor, "I don't know if there is anything further to tell. I haven't figured out a name for the feeling, I just know hearing from Corvus makes me happy. Like flutters in my stomach and a tightness in my chest."

Amaya smiled fondly at Gren, "Sounds nice."

Gren nodded, "It is! I figured I need to enjoy it while it lasts."

She straightened up, "While it lasts?"

Gren finished his bite, put his fork down and signed, "I'm sure, someday, Corvus is going to start dating someone."

Amaya continued looking at him, raising her eyebrows and casually waving her hand forward to gesture: go on.

"Well…I will want to support him in his relationship with whoever the lucky guy is," Gren finished and looked at Amaya and gestured among the lines of: isn't that obvious?

Amaya put a finger out towards him to give her a minute, he nodded and could see Amaya shove a bite of her chicken sandwich into her mouth as she thought about it.

"Why can't you be the lucky guy?" Amaya asked after finishing her bite and putting down her sandwich, "Am I missing something?"

Her question was genuine, and echoed the one his sister had asked him during a phone conversation earlier in the month. Gren had originally answered Embla's question by explaining that he'd never been interested in anyone before. But his sister's "But are you interested in Corvus now?" was too on point and the thought lingered in the back of his head and distracted him from his school work, until he figured out the answer was a resounding: yes. (And that was terrifying for a whole other set of reasons he didn't want to think about right now.)

Gren frowned slightly, "I don't really think I have a reason why I can't...Except that I'm a little scared..." he signed truthfully, a little embarrassed to admit it.

Amaya's eyes turned softer and she nodded, "Understandable. In all the years we've known each other, I've never heard you talk about anyone this way prior."

Gren blushed, "Nope, just Corvus," he signed.

"I'm sure figuring that out wasn't easy for you."

"That's accurate," Gren agreed with a half-chuckle.

Amaya smiled before looking like she usually did when giving a motivational speech, "You've made it this far, Gren. Don't count yourself out yet!" She gave a resolute nod.

Gren smiled and nodded back. "Thank you," he signed.

He could tell Amaya wanted to ruffle his hair, her normal gesture of affection with him, but they were still at work and she held back, resolving to playfully punch his arm from across the table instead.

Gren returned home that evening completely exhausted. Viren's visit meant he ended up working overtime on his normal duties. Then class was spent working mostly independently and in small conferences with his professor about what direction he wanted his senior project to go and how it needed to complement what would ultimately become his Master's thesis. So now he had that to think about…

Normally, Marcos left a small light on for him, but the apartment was empty, as Marcos had started his two week vacation to visit his family further west. So Gren flipped on the switch to the main room, ready to go straight to his room, flop into bed and sleep. What time was it anyways? 10:34? Erg…

Instead Gren dropped his school supplies near the dinner table, and went to the back of their apartment and onto the balcony. Looking over the city landscape, he was never more grateful that it was Thursday, thus ending classes for the week and leaving only one more day of work before Saturday.

"Got home safely. I hope this doesn't wake you up and that you're enjoying camping. :)" Gren instinctively texted Corvus.

He looked over his text from earlier: Saturday! It'd be nice to see Corvus again. He was looking forward to hearing about camping, rock climbing, rapids riding, night walking and whatever else they did. Gren felt a little bad he couldn't really remember all the events Corvus told him about, but it sounded busy. Gren looked out towards the stars, thinking back to what Janai said at their last breakfast.

Stargazing with Corvus would be nice, Gren thought to himself.

He started imagining taking a large blanket out towards the national park. There were some trails that went above the trees and probably had a nice view. Maybe they could bring a tent and camp, which would make Corvus happy, and Gren would be happy to see that. Lay on the blanket, under the stars after dinner but before bed time, drink some hot chocolate, cuddle up under another blanket in the cold autumn night…

Gren shook his head; cuddling with Corvus was something he caught himself dreaming about ever since their hug the last time they were on campus together. Actually, the more he replayed his memories from the past semester, the more obvious it became that he probably had strong feelings for Corvus for a while now, and was just too preoccupied with school, and stress...and the new-ness of the feelings, to really come to terms with it.

Gren sighed, the idea of cuddling together was a sweet daydream, but he didn't know if Corvus was even interested in him like that…

Maybe it was because he was tired, or maybe because he really missed Corvus, but Gren looked at his previous message again, raised his phone's camera, took a picture of the night sky and composed another text.

"You can barely see the stars over here. I wish I could be stargazing with you. PS: Still hoping this doesn't wake you up."

He read it through, he might as well be saying, "I wish I could be with you," - accurate, but he wasn't really sure if Corvus was going to catch that. Maybe this tipped his hand too much? Maybe Corvus would be able to tell that Gren had some big feelings for him by reading the subtext?

But, right now, at 10:41 at night, Gren couldn't find the energy to care about hiding his feelings. He sent the text, and got ready for bed.

Just as he finished brushing his teeth, putting on his pajamas, and turning off the light on his nightstand, a familiar text tone rang out with a picture of the starry night sky attached.

"Me 2 [Smiling face with rosy cheeks - ^_^]"

Corvus! Gren thought happily. He wasn't expecting to hear back from him. He lay in bed, the light from his phone being the only thing to illuminate his room.

"That's a beautiful picture! Thank you for sending. I'm impressed you get reception. I didn't wake you up with my text, did I? :\"

"Thxs, pic doesn't do justice. It's [heart] here. Better signal 2nite. No, I was awake."

Gren smiled from ear to ear; no way he could go to bed now. It was like he had been holding his breath under water up till this point, and the joy of talking to Corvus was like finally coming up for air.

"How was your day? How's camp? It's 10:53 what are you still doing up?"

"Lol! Look who's talking! [Winking face] Been busy. More dets on Sat. Hbu?"

"Long day. Seeing your texts helped make it better though, thanks. :)"

He could see Corvus type. Stop. Type again.

"Ur txts have that effect 2. [^_^] We both have wk tom. Ttyl. Sat, 7 pm ok?"

"Saturday at 7 works for me. :) Rest well, Corvus."

"U2, Gren. [^_^]"

Gren looked at the starry picture again and couldn't stop smiling. Maybe, there was a chance they might actually go stargazing together someday after all. At least, Gren hoped so.