She makes him more happy than the ever-expanding universe ever could. She makes him more happy than the stars and the sky and everything in between. The little raindrops and the little rainbows and the little milky way in her eyes that only he can...
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˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗
"ASTROPHILIA" WAS A WORD THAT SHE HAD NOT EVER HEARD BEFORE BUT WAS BREATH-TAKING WITH EVERY SINGLE LETTER. That was why, when Soren had asked her, "Favourite word?" during their game of twenty questions, she had replied, quietly, breathlessly, happily,
"As-tro-phil-ia."
The word danced on her tongue, intertwining with the cadence of her voice, the pitches, and the rhythm of her heartbeat. It was a captivating word that caused her to exude dark energy and made her lips form a smile amidst the chaotic surge of cosmic debris. Piper had pronounced the word with a peculiar accent that wove words into a melody that made Soren's heart leap. Soren remained silent for a few seconds before echoing it, interpreting his quietness as sheer bewilderment.
"Astrophilia. Love of the stars. Love of the sun. Love of the planets, the world, everything and anything in deep space that swirled like-"
Piper stops as her eyes meet his. She couldn't help it as she sucked in her breath and chewed on her bottom lip until she ran out of breath. She let out a quiet exhale before his eyes burned suddenly and he asked,
"What?"
His words were sharp and ice-cold as he lifted her chin to meet his gaze. "What, what?" he echoed as Piper's eyes traced the movement of his lips. Words spilled forth in a rush. She turned her gaze to the distant moon, beyond the enclosing bushes, the long highways, and winding roads. Beyond the Earth's planes, clouds, and layers of atmosphere—be it the stratosphere or whichever came first. There it was, the moon, a small orb shrouded in a light blue veil—the sky—signalling that it was just about seven in the morning.
Your eyes, she craved to say, to see shear blush flutter on the tip of his cheeks, but she only smiled softly and avoided Soren's harsh gaze.
"Stardust is a beautiful thing," she says softly and sits down on a park bench in loving memory of M. Dawson. She blinks away her tears. Her eyes search the skies for something- he doesn't know what- before she says, "but don't underestimate the power of the beautiful blackness, because that is where the most ravenous black holes emerge."
"Are they ignored?" he asks, eyes curious, lips curved upwards at her entrancingly beautiful philosophy.
"Yes," she whispers, her voice hardly heard over the screeching of cars in the road behind the bench. "Yes, they are."
Piper stays silent, eyes lowered as if guilt had swallowed her, getting rid of all of her smiles. Her eyelids fluttered, eyelashes flickered on her cheeks that seemed pale and hollow and sad. He looks at her wrists- bones poke through. Her legs, thin as a stick, shake and shiver in her jeans.
"Have you eaten today?" he asks her.
Piper looks away. "The moon is bright today, don't you think?" she asks, eyes trailing upwards to the circular moon above them. Soren ignored her and pulls her upwards. Piper quivers and shakes momentarily. Then, she brushes it off and gets up. Her eyes follow Soren's smile as his lips pull upwards into a sad and soft smile.
