Starfall

When he was a kid, staying up late into the night had always been Helix’s favorite secret. Not even his twin brother, Felix, would know. He’d wait until everyone else was fast asleep—or pretending to be as was often the case with Felix—then he’d slowly climb down from the top bunk. The ladder would creak on his way down, so he’d pause at the bottom, still as a statue as he watched Felix on the bottom bunk. After several moments and Felix didn’t stir, Helix would continue his adventure. 

He'd creep out of his bedroom, body hunched up like he was a goblin thief, and make his way down the hallway to the upstairs balcony. His parents had forbidden him from going out there unsupervised at that age but that didn’t stop Helix from unlocking the sliding glass door late at night when no one was around. He’d open it only wide enough to slip through and left it open behind him so as to not make extra noise moving it around too many times. Once outside, he'd lie down on the narrow deck with his hands folded above his head so he could watch the stars in the cosmos. 

And, tonight, he was reminded of those childhood days as he sat on the couch of his childhood home eagerly waiting for the sun to go down. Him and his partner had traveled to the quaint West Virginia town of Beckley where Helix had grown up for a romantic getaway. Thankfully, Helix’s brothers had agreed not to come by during the trip to give the two privacy. 

Helix had always loved stars. Now, it was one of the things that he could bond over with his lover, Casanova. That morning, Casa had suggested they go on a stargazing date. Helix was ecstatic. Sitting on the couch now he could barely sit still. He bounced his knees and fidgeted his hands. The smile never left his face. Bring a rural state, the sky views were always open and brilliant in West Virginia. Helix had always been able to pick out every constellation even without a telescope, which he’d always been told was too expensive as a child.

“…Sun’s…down,” Casa’s voice said from behind the couch as he reentered the room.

Helix shot to his feet and darted around to the other side, nearly crashing into Casa. “Oh boy!” he exclaimed. “Let’s get out there.”

Casa nodded instead of answering verbally. He wasn’t a man of many words and that was just fine by Helix. Silence with Casa was companionable—and if it wasn’t, Helix had enough words for the two of them.

Helix charged past Casa and through the kitchen to the back door. When he stepped onto the patio, the last rays of the sun kissed his cheeks. He gazed up at the darkening sky, cheeks hurting from smiling so hard at the first few twinkling stars. Casa came up behind him, bumping his chest into Helix’s back. It had been a while since they’d had a stargazing date, so Helix was excited. 

Hands grasped Helix’s head and tilted it downward. In the grass a few feet from the patio a blanket was sprawled out. A small mound of pillows was piled on top and there was a bottle of sparkling cider nestled into a large Tupperware bin surrounded by ice. Two glasses rested next to it along with two handheld telescopes.

It was no wonder Casa had been outside for so long. Helix’s heart melted at the thoughtfulness of his boyfriend. He bounced forward and launched himself right into the pile of pillows. “Yahoo!” he cried. 

Casa lumbered off the patio and slowly crossed the yard. He lowered himself to the blanket next to the pillows. Without a word, he offered one of the little telescopes to Helix. Lying on his stomach in the mound, Helix accepted the device. Laughing he raised it to his eye and pointed the other end at Casa’s face.

“There’s a pair of supernovas lurking in the galaxy!” Helix said, focusing on first one emerald green eye and then the other. 

Wrinkles appeared at the corner of the second eye as Casa smiled. “…Want cider?” he asked. 

Helix flopped over onto his back and let his arm with the telescope fall to the ground beside him. “Yes please!” he cried. “You’re so thoughtful. I can’t wait to see what constellations we can observe tonight. Let’s see, it’s spring so we should be able to see Ursa Major, Bootes, Cancer, Leo, Coma Berenices, Virgo…aaaaaaaand Hydra in the Northern Hemisphere!”

Casa uncapped the sparkling cider and poured a few sips into each of the glasses. After replacing the bottle, he offered one of the cups to Helix. “…I like Hydra,” he said.

Helix threw himself back into a sitting position. He took a sip of the cider before setting it down and grabbing the telescope again. He angled it upwards to start searching the brightly twinkling stars in the indigo tinged sky. 

The Hydra had been one of Casa’s favorites for a long time due to its simplicity. It was a collection of stars that represented a snake, just the single kind instead of the multi-headed beast from Greek mythology. There were nineteen stars in the formation in total. Casa liked to say that the Hydra could be anywhere. It was so simple, whoever discovered it had been deeply searching for some kind of connection to make. Helix often felt that perhaps Casa related to the Hydra in that regard. 

Casa picked up his telescope as well. He scooted over onto the blanket so that his hip pressed against Helix’s. Casa leaned back so his arm supported Helix’s back while his hand was planted onto the blanket behind him. He raised his own telescope to the sky and started scanning. 

Helix watched him out of the corner of his eye. He’d already spied the Hydra, locating it easily by triangulating its semi-bright orange giant Alphard with its one bright binary star called Epsilon Hydrae. It also had a blue-white star named Beta Hydrae and a yellow giant called Gamma Hydrae in the formation. The other main named star was called Sigma Hydrae or Minchir. Once Helix had spotted the others, finding Minchir had confirmed he had successfully found the constellation. Doing so was impressive with an amateur style telescope. The two handhelds Casa had brought with them had been procured from the lab they both worked at and were therefore of a higher grade than anything on the consumer market. 

“I got it!” Helix announced when it looked like Casa had stopped scanning. “The Hydra is within my sights.”

“…Found it too,” Casa replied. 

“It’s so peaceful here,” Helix said. He started scanning the sky again, trying to locate the other constellations that would be visible. He wished they’d come during a lunar eclipse. That would’ve made for a magical night. Then, having Casa’s arm solidly protecting his back was magical enough. “I used to watch the stars all the time as a kid. Felix called me an airhead over it. I didn’t care. I always knew the stars would lead me to something special.” He blushed at the words but thankfully Casa wasn’t looking.

Casa kept his telescope trained on the constellation. It had been his idea to take this trip. He wanted to see where Helix had grown up, he’d said. And share in all parts of his life. Their home now was so far away from the backwoods of West Virginia; it was almost like a different world. That was something else Helix enjoyed about the stars. It didn’t matter where in the world you were, you could always see the same sky and the same familiar landscape of the stars.

It was priceless. 

“…Helix.” Casa nudged him with the telescope.

“Huh?” Helix lowered his own to peer at Casa’s face. 

Casa’s head was still angled towards the sky. He lifted the telescope again and indicated a place to the right of the serpent’s head. “…star fall.”

“Really?” Helix bounced with barely repressed excitement. He turned his gaze to the spot before quickly bringing the telescope back to his eye. A meteor shower out of nowhere? How lucky could they be! Unless… “You knew this was coming!” Helix wasn’t mad—he could never get mad at Casa for such a surprise—but he was floored by his boyfriend’s thoughtfulness, again and again. 

Both were silent as they kept their telescopes trained on the starry sky. Bright yellow streaks rushed across the sky. They originated from some point behind the Hydra so that by the time they were visible it appeared as though they were fireballs shooting straight from its mouth. Helix smiled so wide that his mouth was left gaping open as he beheld the beautiful sight. Many meteors rained down, creating a tapestry of flames across much of the sky to the west. 

The shower lasted only a few minutes, but to Helix it had felt like an eternity. Once the last of their light winked out, he found himself breathing hard and in need of catching his breath almost as though he’d run a mile. As much as he was breathless, Helix was also speechless. He’d seen meteor showers before—in fact, he’d observed most all types of astronomical events possible—but something about this one was just that much more special. Maybe it was because he’d been able to share it with the man he loved in the home he’d grown up in?

Helix lowered the telescope and dropped it back to the blanket. Then he whirled to face Casa and earnestly grabbed his boyfriend by the shirt with both hands. “That was beautiful,” he murmured once he’d finally managed to catch his breath.

Casa set his telescope aside as well. He took each of Helix’s wrists into his hands and held his gaze with his soft green eyes. “…Not as beautiful…as you,” he whispered.

Helix collapsed against Casa’s chest, wanting nothing more than to be in his embrace under the clear star-scudded sky forever. Casa’s arms came around him, hugging him close to his chest. Helix felt Casa’s lips kiss the top of his head and he knew that Casa felt the same way. They were made for each other just like the nineteen stars of the Hydra were made for that constellation. Their love could be viewed by thousands of people as well, across the globe, just like that constellation. Helix wouldn’t mind. He wanted the whole world to know how perfect their relationship was. 

“…Love…you,” Casa murmured against his hair.

“I love you too,” Helix proclaimed.