“I’ve always wondered... what does the Light World look like?” Ralsei asked, his voice hushed with the question.

He and Kris sat in his kitchen around the little table in the corner. The two often sat here when Kris came to visit, enjoying each other’s company.

Kris looked up from the cup of tea they held and pondered for a moment.

“Very bright,” they decided, humor creeping into their voice. Ralsei laughed at that as he pushed aside his own tea.

“What’s the sky like? Doesn’t it change?”

“Well, we have days and nights,” Kris said slowly, tracing the rim of their cup. “Days... the sun is out, and everything is bright. Then, it sets at night, which is dark like here. But with stars.”

“Stars,” Ralsei breathed, eyes twinkling. The tea fogged up his glasses, so he took them off and cleaned them. Kris watched, a faint smile dusting their features. “I’ve read about them, but I can only imagine what they look like. I’ve heard they’re beautiful.”

“Yeah,” they whispered, not moving their gaze as he replaced his glasses. “They’re very pretty.”

Unaware of their eyes fixated on him, Ralsei looked up towards the dark ceiling of the kitchen, thinking. “What do they look like?”

“Like... specks of light.” Kris watched as Ralsei stretched a hand upward, as if searching with his fingers for stars that aren’t there. They continued. “Dozens of little lights, all along the sky. Some of them can be connected to make pictures. Constellations.”

His gaze fell back to Kris across the table. “Constellations?”

“Shapes made of stars.”

“It sounds beautiful.” He closed his eyes. “I wish I could see.”

Kris thought for a moment. “I think there’s books back home about stars. I could show you if you want.”

Ralsei smiled down at his cup while he considered. “I would like that,” he said. Kris’s stomach fluttered.

Kris returned the next day with a couple of dusty books from their library. Upon seeing them, Ralsei exclaimed with delight and brought them inside, where the two of them sat pressed up next to each other on the couch as they pored over the images.

Kris ran their hand over the grainy pictures of various stars and constellations, occasionally naming the ones they recognized.

“Orion,” they stated as they flipped a page, “and Orion’s belt. The three stars there,” Their voice caught as Ralsei placed his hand on theirs, staring intently at the image as though he were trying to memorize it. “And...”

Their voice faded to silence, leaving them to simply admire the images and diagrams.

“Oh!” Ralsei exclaimed, pointing at one picture. “That one looks like a little spoon!”

Kris smiled. “The Big Dipper.”

“Fascinating. Does it actually work?”

Kris shook their head, then laughed as Ralsei made a sound of confusion and slight disappointment.

“Do you see them every night?” Ralsei whispered, after the second book was closed and they were sitting in silence, thinking. The room was dark, save for the blue candles lit in the corners.

Kris brushed their hand over the cover of the book. “Nearly. Except when it’s cloudy.”

“Clouds I still don’t understand.” Kris could almost hear Ralsei frowning as he spoke. “Just... chunks of water? Floating?”

Kris laughed again, the second time today. “More... fluffy.” They gently wrapped an arm around Ralsei’s shoulders. “Clouds are pretty too.”

He shook his head, leaning against them as he sighed. “Not as pretty as the stars.” And they silently agreed.

The next time Kris came to visit, there was a little gift wrapped in a neat green bow waiting by their cup of tea. They didn't notice it until they brushed it with their hand, swiftly grabbing it before it fell.

”What’s this?” they wondered aloud. Ralsei shook his head, eyes gleaming.

“Open it,” he urged, sitting next to them at the table.

Kris opened the package, carefully undoing the bow, and pulled out the tiny contents.

The white ribbon— though it looked a little different now.

Ralsei had stitched little stars and constellations in black thread onto the ribbon. The soft fabric shimmered in the light, the stars almost appearing to twinkle. A miniature Big Dipper had been sewn into the center, underlined by Orion’s belt. Both designs were near perfect imitations of the real thing.

Kris exhaled slowly, tracing the thin, dark lines. It was beautiful. They turned it over in their hands and noticed a tiny name etched with blue thread in the corner.

Kris.

“Do you like it?” Ralsei asked after a long pause. Kris could feel their face warming. For a moment, they sat in admiration, running their thumb first over their own name and then the stars on the other side.

“I love it.” They really did. It was so pretty, and echoed with the first fluttery feeling of giving the ribbon to Ralsei in the fields.

“I’m glad you like it. Although, I’m sorry about the handiwork— I’m afraid I haven't sewn in a while.” Ralsei wrung his hands in an apology that was in no way necessary. “I just felt like... since you’ve done so much for me, I just wanted to... repay you.”

For a second, Kris thought about giving it back to him, tying it around his hat, but they decided not to refuse the beautiful gift. Instead, they wrapped it around their wrist, tucking one end in so the one with their name stuck out, like a sort of decoration. The blue thread gleamed.

“Thank you,” Kris smiled at Ralsei, entirely grateful. He smiled back briefly before furrowing his brow.

“I still wish I could see them.” Ralsei frowned down at the ribbon, vaguely distraught.

Kris looked up to the ceiling, struck by an idea. It would take some preparation, but it was worth it.

After a final adjustment to the fit of the ribbon, Kris reached out with a rush of courage and kissed Ralsei on the forehead.

Startled, he blushed bright pink, opening his mouth as if to say something. But Kris had already interrupted the non-existent sentence by slipping out the door with a vague “see you later.”

Now, the only thing to worry about was how they were going to ask their mother.

Two days (and an unnecessary amount of anxiety on Ralsei’s part) later, Kris returned with a great brown box in their hands and the ribbon still around their wrist.

After a moment of deliberation over how they would knock on the door, it opened for them, revealing Ralsei looking both relieved and unsure.

“You’re back!” he blurted. ”I was worried since you left so abruptly last time, I thought I—“ He stopped, noticing the box Kris held. “What is that?”

Kris smoothly stepped around him into the castle and started up the stairs towards Ralsei’s room. He followed, confused but curious.

Nudging the door open with an elbow, Kris stepped inside and set the box down on the bed. They waited until Ralsei was next to them to open it.

Inside, dozens upon dozens of glow-in-the-dark stars.

Ralsei gasped, a short, sharp sound as Kris lifted the stars out of the package. The little stickers, though not yet glowing, shimmered a pale green in their plastic casing.

“Are they— are those—“ Ralsei stuttered in disbelief. Kris smiled and removed a star from its plastic backing, revealing the adhesive.

“No, they’re not real,” they hummed, turning to stick the star onto the wall. It almost appeared white against the dark surface. “Decorations. They glow in the dark.”

“Wow,” Ralsei’s voice was barely above a hushed whisper as he reached out to brush the star gently. “And there’s more? You brought all these— for me?”

Of course I did, Kris thought silently. They pulled out a few more stars. Of course I did. You deserve the world and all of its stars.

“A way to repay you,” was all they said.

Kris climbed up onto the bed and stretched their arms to the ceiling. They were just able to touch, and they stuck a star onto the gray surface. Then another.

From there Kris began to place the stickers strategically, mapping out a pattern they had slaved over for the past day. Ralsei sat on the edge of the bed and watched as Kris stuck the stars on one by one, arms held high.

Satisfied with this section, Kris pushed the box to the floor with a thud and dropped down to gather more stars. They looked up to where Ralsei was sitting quietly, peering up at the start of the image Kris had begun.

“They need light to charge,” Kris said, counting out the stickers they grabbed. They pulled out a chair to stand on. “So they can glow.”

Ralsei’s features lit into an expression of understanding. “Oh! I know a light spell. Shall I just... hold the light to them, then?”

Nodding, Kris stepped up and continued the pattern.

The two of them worked in silence, Kris moving the chair around the room as they placed the stars on the ceiling with Ralsei following behind, slightly confused but happy to be included. The light from his palms was bright enough that the stars already looked to be glowing, encouraging Kris to finish faster.

At one point, Ralsei began to hum quietly. Kris stopped for a spell to just listen, watching as Ralsei illuminated the large ceiling with his magic. They smiled, thinking about how eager Ralsei was about... anything. How he willingly went along with Kris’s plan, despite the lack of explanation. How beautiful he looked, in the light of his spell and in the green hue from the ceiling.

As Kris placed the final star onto the ceiling, Ralsei stood next to them on the chair, the light from his magic dimming. In the silence, Kris became aware of their heartbeat as they noticed how close the two of them were.

His palm still illuminated, Ralsei turned to them, his voice barely above a whisper.

“What now?”

Kris exhaled slowly, heart getting louder. “Now... stargazing.”

“How does it work?”

“It’s usually done outside.” Kris stepped off the chair for fear that Ralsei might hear their pounding heart if they were there any longer. They reached out a hand to help him down. “Where you lie down and just look at the stars.”

A little “oh” escaped Ralsei as he hopped down. Kris pushed the box under the bed and sat, suddenly nervous. Ralsei sat beside them.

“Are they ready?” he whispered after a few beats. Kris nodded, and Ralsei closed his hand, extinguishing the light.

The two of them blinked in the dark silence that followed, eyes adjusting. Beside them, Kris heard Ralsei gasp, beholding the expanse of the green stars in all their glory.

Kris had to admit, it looked a lot better than they had planned. The stars shimmered on the ceiling, casting a ghostly pale glow across the room. They seemed to shiver, almost pulsing with light, as if the remnants of Ralsei’s magic were being reflected down on the pair.

There was a soft whump as Ralsei fell back into the bed, eyes wide. Kris followed suit, scanning their handiwork stretched above them.

“Oh-!” Kris turned their head, seeing the silhouette of Ralsei’s hand pointing at a clump of stars. “There’s the Big Dipper!”

“Mhm,” Kris smiled to the ceiling. They lifted their own arm to trace along the pattern they’d laid out. “Orion’s belt. And Cassiopeia,” they added, a bit proud of their newfound knowledge of astrology.

The constellations were marked out by larger, brighter stars, while speckled throughout the rest of the space were the smaller ones. In all, there were three constellations, and one Kris had added in, though they were still unsure of whether they should have.

Their hand halted just before they pointed to it. Hesitating.

“What’s wrong?” Ralsei whispered. Kris lowered their hand, about to answer nothing, but decided to just say it.

“And... that one.” They gestured to where it was among the ceiling: a little “R” shaped of luminous stars.

Ralsei gasped. “Oh...”

There was silence. Kris’s heart grew loud again.

Then, a sniffle.

Kris turned in alarm to see Ralsei sitting up, tears flowing from his eyes as he scrubbed them with one hand.

“Hey—“ Kris sat up too, uncertain and worried. Ralsei took off his glasses and covered his face with an elbow.

“Sorry,“ he laughed, a little more like a hiccup. “I just can’t believe it. That you did this for me, of all...”

“Hey,” Kris repeated, shifting so they were facing him. They lifted their arms and cupped his face with both hands, wiping away his tears. “Of course I did.”

“But—“

“Shhh.” Leaning forward, Kris pressed their lips to Ralsei’s forehead again, then rested their own forehead there for a moment. “Stargazing is supposed to be relaxing,” they remarked, pulling him into a hug. Ralsei giggled softly, sighing.

“I’m sorry. Thank you,” he mumbled, the last of his tears fading as Kris held him. “I don’t even know what to say.”

“It’s okay.”

“It’s beautiful.”

Pulling away, Kris stared into his eyes, shiny with leftover tears and the reflection of the great, shimmering ceiling.

“You are,” they agreed.