A/N : So this story takes place during an AU in which Stella, Sky, & Brandon have been friends since they were kids. Because we all know I'm a sucker for friends-to-lovers trope.
1. She's ten, and anxiously hiding behind her mother's leg as the ships touch down. Her parents have rambled on endlessly about the Prince of Eraklyon, they spent the last few months telling her all about Prince Sky and how rich and kind and noble his family was. Stella has always been a people person, drawn to others, but meeting new people always brought about anxiety.
The boys step off the plane in perfect unison; the prince and the squire, two halves of one whole, and Stella watches in silent amazement as they stroll up to her. She starts to ramble, her welcome quickly devolving into nervous chatter, before he sweeps into an elaborate bow and raises her hand to his lips. He gives her knuckles a chaste kiss, brown eyes sparkling as he straightens out and call her beautiful while their parents watch, amused. Her cheeks are more red than her fathers cape, her heart thrumming against her rib cage at exorbitant speeds. For the first time in her life, Stella is speechless.
2. They're twelve, and she knows his real name now. (Doesn't make him any less of a prince, in her opinion. she treats him as she always has: as a friend.) The three of them have been causing mischief throughout the palace all day, and their time on solaria is drawing to a close. Much to Stella's disappointment. Having Sky and Brandon around, it makes the emptiness of the castle fade away. She may be the princess of Solaria, but she has no doubt that they are the warmth and light in her life.
She grabs their hands, pulling them both to the galaxy room while giggling breathlessly. They spend the next hour there, watching the stars twinkle and the planets rotate around and around and around. (Brandon, she thinks, is like the sun. And she is the planet, spinning around and around and around him.) As they wind down, Sky ends up stretched out across their laps. A shooting star streaks across the display, and Brandon whispers make a wish, princess. And so she does. She hopelessly, desperately wishes that her boys could stay here with her forever. She turns to look at him, outlined in the silver glow, and without thinking leans forward and places a quick kiss on his nose. He looks at her, confused, and she explains that it's a Solarian tradition for good luck. He grins. "I don't need luck, I have you." Warmth blossoms in her chest, and she leans against his shoulder. They stay like that for another half an hour, lost in their own little world.
3. Stella's 13 and never been more humiliated in her life. The whole school is laughing at her, laughing at Orion's 'harmless prank.' The day has been filled with snickers and whispers at every turn. She'd spent the night sobbing into her pillow, lithe shoulders shaking and glasses smeared with mascara, wondering why they found such glee in tormenting her, wondering what she had ever done to them. But she won't give them the satisfaction of seeing her upset. She walked as she was taught to, shoulders straight and head held high. She elbowed her way past the crowd gathering to gawk at something in the courtyard, and Stella is momentarily glad for the distraction. It'll make getting to class easier. But then…she hears his voice.
She would know it in a sea of millions. She turned, and her breath caught in her throat, not quite daring to hope. But there stood Brandon, dressed to the nines. Her knight in shining armor. Behind him, Sky sits in a gorgeous carriage drawn by winged horses. She had called them when everything unfolded (of course she had) but she hadn't expected…this. This time when the crowd murmurs about her, it's in jealousy. She takes his offered hand as he helps her into the carriage. "You didn't have to do this," she whispered, in awe. His eyes glisten, and he pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. "I know. I wanted to." Something hangs between them for a moment, and Stella cautiously reaches for his hand. He gives her a little squeeze, and both of them sit in silence while listening to Sky ramble on.
4. She's 15, and a wreck. She shouldn't be here. It's late. Her clothes are torn. She's a mess. She shouldn't be here. But she is. It's the only place she wants to be. She crumples into Brandon's touch, his eyes hard, his expression worried, and his arms gentle. He holds her and whispers calming things into her ear as she sobs into his shirt for hours, he waits patiently for her to explain what happened. So she tells him. She tells him about the break up with her boyfriend, and the bus ride here. Tells him about kids she used to consider friend's sneering at her. Tells him about how they blamed her for breaking their friends heart. She stumbles her way through her story, choking on her tears.
What she doesn't tell him is how they were right. How her boyfriend - her ex - knew her heart was somewhere else. With someone else. What she doesn't tell him is how the growing bruise on her cheek is not from the jumping tonight, but the fight from yesterday. What she doesn't tell him is how much she wants to kiss him. She's fought her feelings for years now, and she's tired of fighting. There's a million reasons they shouldn't kiss: she's gawky, he's gorgeous. She's a princess, he's a page. She's awkward, he's adorable. If he doesn't feel the same way, if she messes everything up, she would never forgive herself. He's a mirror, reflecting back the best parts of herself and stitching together her broken pieces. He was the first boy to ever make her feel safe, and seen, and supported. He was the only boy she'd ever loved. He knew everything about her…and he cared anyways.
As if he could sense her turmoil, he lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. In that moment…the world stopped. Inches away. They were inches away. He was everything she wanted, and everything she could never have. Stella didn't dare breathe as they stared into each other's eyes for what felt like an eternity. Then Brandon leaned closer…..and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. Just like that the spell broke. He led her upstairs and offered her a fresh pair of clothes. She changed without another word. He waited up with her for her parents to come pick her up, and in that time she fell asleep against his shoulder. And she dreamed of a world where the two of them could be together in the way she wanted.
5. She's finally 18, the day she'd been eagerly awaiting for gods know how long. Solaria dolled up in celebration, but while the party rages on outside the door she only has eyes for Brandon. they had snuck away from the noise downstairs and stood in one of the castle's many empty rooms. His fingers trace patterns lazily on her exposed back, and everywhere he touches, fire springs to life. She's burning, burning, burning, but oh god does she love it. She can't pinpoint when delicate kisses turned desperate, but they had. Her back to the wall, face flushed, and breathless from kissing she pointed to the sofa without uttering a word. He understood, like he always did.
They stumbled across the floor, moving in the almost synchronized pattern they'd always have, so it was almost a dance. Until he tripped over some long discarded book on the ground, sending both of them tumbling to the couch while laughing breathlessly. Brandon sat up, and Stella followed suit, straddling him as they resumed their kissing. Her hands hovered over the hem of his shirt, her eyes asking permission that he granted with a small nod. Her fingers splayed over his bare chest, she pulls back to admire him. Her eyes shine softly as her hands move up to cradles his face. He's gorgeous. But more than that…he's hers. He's everything she's every wanted, everything she thought she could never have, and being here feels like a fairy tale.
Love swells in her chest, almost overwhelming in it's ferocity, and her next kiss is softly pressed to his mouth. Then his jaw. i love you, i love you, i love you. She wants to press the words into his skin, with each kiss to his neck, his collarbone, his shoulders. She wants to cover every inch of him with her love, as if it was armor that could protect him from anything and everything. i love you, i love you, i love you. Her fingers tangled in his hair, her lips pressed to the hollow of his throat. He has lipstick smears all over his chest, each one carrying a silent message. She's saying all she needs to say without uttering a word. i love you, i love you, i love you. It's true. Right now, it feels like the only truth that matters...
Then the door bursts open and Stella freezes in shock. Luckily for them, it's only Sky. He freezes in the doorway, words dying on his tongue and cheeks quickly turning red. "Um…your…your dad is uh….looking for you, Stells…" He muttered, avoiding looking at either of them as he scrambled for the door handle. "I'll….I'll go buy you two a couple of minutes to uh…get ready." And with that he's gone. There's a moment - a beat - of silence. Then Brandon and Stella burst out laughing, and she gets up and tugs him to the private bathroom. Using a washcloth, she wipes off the lipstick marks across his neck. (The ones over his chest, though, she leaves. A to be continued no one else could see.)
She reapplies her lipstick, and fixes her hair with a wave of her hand. She turned to look at him, now looking as dashing as he always did, and moved to fix his tie without even thinking about it. Now halfway decent, they lace their fingers together and start towards the door. Before she can open it though, he stops her and presses a kiss to her nose. "For good luck." He states softly as she looks at her quizzically, and Stella can't help but grin. Practically glowing, she gave him a kiss on the nose. And together they descend into the party, hand in hand.