Stars In The Dark

The starry night made me smile, as I stood out on the balcony of our apartment in New York City.

It felt good out here, the air was chilly, and I zipped up my jacket just a little higher, hoping to shave a bit of the cold off, but only ended up in pressing the cold metal to my skin accidentally, and causing a shiver to run through me. I laughed lightly, and looked up, seeing how the stars seemed to twinkle and glitter, as if they were winking at me. I really loved the stars; they were so beautiful this time of year, the icy air always making them more visible in the night sky.

I wished I had my telescope out here, but I'd taken it inside not too long ago due to a lot of rain, and hadn't had a chance to set it up again. But that was alright, really. At least I got to see this all right now. And boy, was it beautiful. Astronomy had always been a thing of mine, even if I never wanted to pursue it as a career major. I was just happy where I was and with my life.

I sighed happily, taking a deep inhale of the frozen air, and somehow, it was refreshing to me. I leaned on the railing of the balcony, and suddenly, I felt something being wrapped around my neck. Soft material, a scarf, that's what it was. I recognized the fabric.

"You're going to catch your death out here, Alfred. Honestly, if you're going to stand out here for this long, bundle up more."

I threw my head back towards the stars and chuckled softly, shaking my head and adjusting the scarf the way I wanted it. I turned my head and looked over at the voice, knowing automatically whom it was. It was Arthur, the love of my life and my apartment mate. Here he was, always worrying about me, even if there was nothing to worry about. I smiled at him, shrugging my shoulders a bit.

"Sorry, Artie. It's not that cold out here, really. I don't mind it. Besides, if I bundled up too much, it'd take away from the experience," I explained, pointing towards the stars.

Despite it being New York City, we could still see the stars clearly in the city's brightness. Arthur looked up, too, and I saw a faint glimmer of a smile on his lips, before he pulled his own coat tighter around him.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" I said, putting my arm around him and pulling him closer to me.

"It really is…" he agreed, resting his head against me as he looked to the stars once more. I wondered if he was making a wish, but decided not to ask. Instead, I just looked over his features, sort of entranced by how much more I was noticing in the pale light of the moon and the city's lights.

Arthur sighed lightly, and closed his eyes. "It's nice out here. Still, much too cold to be without proper garments for extend periods of time."

"Yeah, yeah," I laughed, shaking my head. "Always nagging, always nagging! Give me a break, would you?"

I watched the way his lips formed a thin line, a clearly unamused expression, as he scoffed lightly. "I'm just worrying about you, that's all. Someone has to, since clearly you don't worry about your own safety, you dolt."

"I know, I'm just teasing, you know that," I kissed him on the head, and I could feel him soften somehow, as I closed my own eyes for a few moments, my arm still firmly wrapped around him.

I don't think I've ever been happier than I had been right now, just here with Arthur, my Arthur, here on the balcony of our New York City apartment, the stars winking at us in the darkness of the night, and the mingling lights of the city flashing in the distance.