AN: The daily drabble prompt (Stargazing) I did a few weeks ago actually gave me two ideas, both OTP related. Y'all got the drabble a while back and this one's for here and now!

Up Above

"Not that I'm complaining, but is there any particular reason we're in such a rush?"

"Well, curfew is in an hour. Besides," Emma said, carefully removing a blanket from her satchel and unfolding it to spread the fabric onto the grass, "as far as I'm concerned you need to make up for lost time. I can't believe you've never gone stargazing before!"

Her voice was as indignant as he'd ever heard it and he couldn't help but feel that particular timbre was better suited to something like high treason. Then again, what did he know?

"I-It's not as though I've actively tried to avoid it or anything," he told her, shaking his head in exasperation when Emma insistently patted the spot next to her, "but given how well Heimdallr is lit even at night, well..."

She frowned a little at that, her hands rising to smooth out her skirt. "I can see light pollution being an issue in the capital," she admitted, her smile returning as quickly as it had vanished, "but we're not going have that problem here, I don't think. And for curiosity's sake, how much do you know about astronomy - and astrology, for that matter - anyway?"

"Only what lessons at school taught me for the former," he answered as he sat, the once ever-present need to deflect having long since fled in the face of Class VII's influence. "And the latter... well, I can't say it came up all that often outside of a few articles here and there."

"Hmm. I suppose we have some catching up to do, then," she said with a playful nudge and snickering when he nudged her back. "I do hope you're paying attention, Mr. Vice President."

"Yes, yes. Will I be correct in assuming there'll be an exam on this later...?"

"Oh, I haven't decided yet. I feel as though that depends on how much information you manage to retain. Now, look up and hush."

Try as he might Machias couldn't quite help the reflexive huff, though considering the tremendously distracting way Emma was currently curling against his side he found it rather difficult to feel any genuine annoyance. As he looked up, he -

... Oh.

Well.

Wasn't that something.

"See? I told you it would be different out here," Emma whispered, drawing even closer to him as she spoke. All Machias could do was nod, transfixed.

Goddess. Had there always been so many of them...?

"Do you see where I'm pointing?" he heard faintly, his eyes swimming though the inky darkness in an attempt to follow her finger as it began to trace its celestial path. "Toward those three, the ones shining brightest."

Another nod.

"That's the Hunter's Belt," she told him, her lips by the shell of his ear, the gentle breaths soothing him like nothing else had before. "At least, that's what it was in the story I was always told. Others may have a different name for it."

"Hunter's Belt?"

"Mmm. It comes from an old story about a nameless warrior, whose exploits were so renowned in life that after his death he ascended to become a guardian in the heavens, looking after those who lived below forevermore. Can you see him? That triad of stars make up the belt he wore, and the ones surrounding it form his figure."

He stayed quiet, his focus unwavering as he drew lines from point to point in his mind's eye and he was rewarded when an ethereal image gradually revealed itself from the void; the undeniable silhouette of a hero, standing tall and proud.

"You can, can't you?" she demanded in the face of his silence, the excitement and joy unmistakable, and when Machias turned to face Emma - Emma and her glimmering sapphire eyes that shone just as brightly as the stars above them - he wondered if it might not be worth it to stay out a bit longer than they really should.

The effect this girl had on him.

"I'm actually having a little trouble, in all honesty. I feel as though your directions might need some additional fine-tuning...?"

Emma swatted his arm lightly, her touch lingering.

"You're an awful, awful liar," she said with a giggle, not falling for his provocation in the slightest. "Has anyone told you that?"

"No one besides you, but I feel that's a compliment more than anything else. At any rate, that's the Hunter. Where exactly am I looking next?"

"Hehe. Well, first we start by using the Belt as a reference point before..."

And Machias listened and looked and breathed in the sweet scent of her hair, lost in the rhapsody of strawberries and starlight.

They were a few minutes late for curfew. Sara smirked behind a mug and said absolutely nothing.