A Starry Night
It was late after dark in Vesuvia when the magician Asra closed the door behind his last client of the day. He magically put out the lantern outside before starting to tidy the shop up, carefully manipulating fragile vials and flowers, smoothing out wrinkles on some pillows and the curtains leading to the backroom.
A noise coming from outside a glass tinted window made him startle as he was checking up on his stock of ingredients. A dark feline, almost invisible in the night had it not been for the electric blue streak on its fur, had jumped on the windowsill, making a tiny flower pot teeter dangerously close to the edge. Asra caught it with magic just in time to abort its fall. Unbothered, the animal gracefully continued its ascension to the rooftop of the magician's shop. Asra's purple gaze followed it upwards. In the silence of the shop, he could almost hear the soft, content hums of his apprentice, whom he knew for sure to be lying on the roof, eyes to the skies, ocean-like mind travelling to far off galaxies.
Asra cast a look around the shop. Faust was slowly adjusting her rings around the tiny tree she had been gifted two birthdays ago, a sleepy look on her triangular face. He gently scratched her under the chin, smiling as she leaned into his touch and then left her be with a fond "good night". He climbed up the stairs to the bedroom and then the ladder leading to the rooftop. He closed his eyes, basking in the midnight chill, a warmer breeze blowing gently the hair from his forehead. He opened his eyes and took in the shape of his apprentice lying on their back, staring up to the night sky. Pearls and small flowers powdered their dark hair like the stars reflecting in their eyes. A low, enchanting melody was coming out of their chest as their fingers gently stroke the black and blue fur of the feline sitting on their stomach.
Asra smiled as a wave of warmth engulfed his entire being. Seeing Lux like this was not unusual, yet the sight never failed to remind him of the strength of his feelings for them.
He felt more than saw Lux's head shift to the side to look at him, dark grey eyes no longer fixated on the canopy of lights above, but focused on him, entirely him, and him only. It was one of the things that he had first fell in love with when he had gotten to know Lux, the way they gave their entire attention to what they were doing or to the person they were talking to. Their focus felt as piercing as it was comforting, making you feel like the most important person in the world, in their world, and that feeling was the single most precious thing Asra had ever had.
"Asra." Lux's voice was just loud enough to be heard, but quieter than an usual medium voice. It went as a complement to the way they spared their attention. They spoke slowly, but clearly, every word carefully chosen, voice low and calm. It was a shelter from the ever loud crowd of the streets, and a torture when they leaned in close and whispered things in his ear, low tone dropping even lower and making him imagine all kinds of things that left him flustered every single time. Lux rarely failed to notice and the faint smirk they gave him nearly always give him a heart attack.
Asra crossed the rooftop to come lie down beside his apprentice, close enough that their arms were touching. Lux slipped their hand into his and turned their head so that their face was burrowed into his shoulder. Warmth spread from these parts all the way into his heart. He blinked up at the sky, watching clouds mask a portion of stars and then leave it clear of obstruction as they moved out of the way.
"Behemia looks beautiful tonight." he said, leaning his head slightly towards Lux. They lifted theirs up to look up at the large, crown shaped constellation.
"It does." they murmured. There was a moment of silence as they shifted their gaze towards him and he moved his head to face them. "You do, too." they said quietly.
Asra coughed to cover the crimson blush on his cheeks. He was usually the one to give this kind of compliments. Lux was more of a quiet appreciation kind of person. Asra would often find their gaze slide up and down his body with a smile on their lips, or they would simply touch, a lot. One time Asra had gotten them drunk and they had serenaded his eyes for a good five minutes. It was one of his favorite memories.
"Thank you." he said after the flush had receded. Lux simply smiled, fond and amused and pressed a kiss to his shoulder. The two magicians fell quiet, the melody of Lux's song the only sound between them.
"Asra?" Lux said again after a while.
"Yes?"
"Do you ever feel... lost?"
Asra looked over to them. Lux's tone was as neutral as it ever was, but he felt their heartbeat speed up just a little. They were still looking at the sky, a slight tremor at the corner of their eyes the only indication that they knew they were being watched.
"Sometimes." he answered truthfully. "Do you feel lost, Lux?"
"Sometimes." they echoed. "When I'm not with you." They shifted so that they were face to face again.
"I'm sorry I'm not always here." He felt sincere remorse. Leaving them, even for a short period of time, always felt harder each time around. He knew Lux missed him, just as much as he missed them, which made the separation all the more painful.
Asra was surprised, yet not so much, when Lux smiled, small and special. "I cope." they said. "I know you're still out there, somewhere." There was the sound of fabric rustling as they moved to look at the stars. "I know you'll always come back, somehow. And I know that, should I ever need to, I would always find you. Even without a map, even without a spell, I would always find you. There is only this feeling, right in my heart, that will always lead me straight to you."
"Lux..." Asra's throat felt tight. Heartfelt declaration like this one always left him shaken, his heart feeling too large for his chest, ready to implode with how much love he had for Lux.
"I even named a star after that feeling, on one of those moments where I felt lost. It's that one." Lux said, pointing at a bright star just above them.
"What did you call it?" His voice sounded small, almost afraid, as if unsure how much love and adoration his heart could take before it stopped working, overflowing with emotion.
Lux turned. They gazed at him, the star from above twinkling in their eyes. They smiled. "Home."