a/n: valko's coming home soon, right?? He's just planning our camping trip, right??
im reading this back and I feel like it's too fluffy even for me, but im on my period so ill blame this on my hormones.
hope you enjoy!
tags: fluff, too much fluff, established relationship, stargazing inaccuracies for the sake of fiction, not proofread
"So the puppy is just those two stars."
"And thatβs supposed to be the dog?" Valko casts you a skeptical glance.
"Yeah," you nod. You point to a group of stars a little further away. "And thatβs the bear. Ursa Major."
Valko squints, eyebrows furrowed. He tilts his head to the side. "But thatβs not a bear. How is that a bear?"
His eyes track your finger, following along as you guide him through it. "Well, there's the head, the body, legs and..." You pause to steal a glance at him, unable to help yourself. "There's it's tail."
Valko's eyes widen and for a split second he's rendered speechless. It's delightful. He's immediately so aghast. So indignant.
"Tail!" he all but howls. His ears flicker. "Iβve never seen a bear with a tail like that.
Your shoulders shake as you stifle your laughter. He looks over, trying to appeal to you, but you pretend not to notice. "Letβs just find the- oh. The wolf. Itβs there."
Your hand wraps around his wrist, helping him thread the stars together and illuminate it. Together you draw out the shape of... well, what one might consider a wolf if they were being very generous about it.
Valko's not in a generous mood it seems.
"What am I even looking at right now?"
"It's the constellation Lupus. I told you, itβs the wolf."
"No. No." He takes his glasses off and rubs the lenses. He shakes his head immediately after popping them back on. "No."
"No?" you goad, eyebrow arched.
Valko looks at you in disbelief. "How could anyone look at that and think it even vaguely resembles a wolf?"
"I don't know, I mean I can see it. It's just curled up. And you know," you try to keep the laughter from your voice as you continue, "it kind of looks like you."
Valko rolls onto his side and props himself up by the elbow. He leans in, really studying your expression, but you've already returned your gaze skyward. You're determined to feign ignorance but theres a hand under your chin and your laughter spills out as soon as you meet his eyes.
"Take that back," he demands.
You refused and now you find yourself tussling with him on the blanket. His cold hands creep under your shirt, they run along your sides making you squirm.
There's a dark gleam in his eyes.
"You've been making all of these up from the start just to mess with me. Isn't that right?"
You shake your head frantically. "No Val. They're real I promise."
"Then why are you still giggling, doll? Huh?"
"Well it's because I- look over there!" You push Valko off of you and he lets you have your way, going down laughing at your childish antics.
The roughhousing continues. Laughter rings out, happy sounds filtering through the quiet peace of the forest.
"I didn't make any of it up. I mean it."
"Hey, I believe you, sweets. When we get back I'll look em up so I can learn about them."
"Yeah I gotta know why the bear has a tail like that."
You roll your eyes and give him a little shove. He responds by squeezing you tighter against him and dropping a kiss to your forehead.
Things had simmered down eventually. By the time your energy was spent, the night had deepend. It had gotten a little colder too, but Valko ran hot like a furnace and easily offered himself up to keep you warm.
"You know," you raise your head from Valko's chest to peer up at him, "I thought you guys might have your own constellations."
Valko's hand, that had been stroking the back of your head, pauses while he ponders this. "While the stars are pretty, we've never really thought of them as significant. Maybe if we relied on the stars to navigate we'd come up with stories for them. But as you know by now, wolves use their senses, mainly scent, to figure out where they are."
"Or their pack mates," you suggest.
"That's right." Valko smiles. "Itβs the moon we mythologise. That's what's we treasure."
"Okay last one then," you announce, sitting up, and despite the puzzled expression on his face, Valko rises with you without question.
"You see that star over there, near the moon."
"It might not mean much to you but, that one's yours."
A slow smile blooms on his face. He huffs, disbelieving. You spy the tips of his ears reddening, the flick of his tail.
"Yup." You shrug. "From now it's your star."
Valko hums. He takes your wrist and guides it to point at the star closest to his own. "Then that oneβs yours."
"Not the moon? I guess I'm not treasured enough," you tease. There's no heat in it though. How could there be when Valko looks at you with those soft adoring eyes?
"The moon isn't always around." He explains. "Or rather, it is, but on one night each cycle it hides away from sight." He points up at the pair of stars, blinking down, side by side. "Every night, even on those new moon nights, the two of us will still be together."Β
