loves-pie:

15.
shooting star 

Last one. 🙂

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It was well-known that the significant light
pollution in L.A. meant that the stars were almost always obscured—especially
since one memorable power outage, during which residents had called 911 to
report strange clouds hovering over the city; it turned out that they were actually
seeing the Milky Way for the first time.

As a child, Chris had always been
fascinated whenever he’d had the chance to see the night sky away from the
city. One such time, on a camping trip to Death Valley, his dad had explained
all about the different stars and constellations, and how long it took the
twinkling lights he was seeing to travel all the way to Earth. Chris had
listened in awe, imagining what wonders lay beyond their world, wondering if
anything out there was looking right back at them.

He’d seen his first shooting star that
night, and his dad had told him to wish on it. At eight years old, it hadn’t
been anything deep and meaningful; just a new bike.

His next chance didn’t come until he was a
teenager. Awkward and insecure, especially about his appearance, he’d recently
had his prom invitation turned down by a girl he liked and had been left
floundering. So he’d used that shooting star to wish for someone he could
really connect with, on every level.
At the time, he’d imagined an intelligent beautiful girl who saw beyond his
acne to the man beneath, but fate apparently had other plans. For it wasn’t
until an intelligent beautiful man entered his life some years later that Chris
found that connection, as if a million lights had been switched on in his
brain. Zach made him see stars of his own.

So it was that when his third shooting star
came along, his wish was instantaneous and easily the most earnest of them all.

“You’ll get cold out here,” Zach said, crossing
the deck from behind to drop a jacket around Chris’ shoulders.

Chris smiled and leaned back against him
contentedly, warmth blooming from within as Zach’s arms settled around his
waist. “Just taking the opportunity to see the stars. The real ones,” he added,
referring to their recently wrapped Trek movie.

Zach huffed. “Yeah, green screen doesn’t
really do them justice, does it? Oh hey, a shooting star!” he exclaimed,
raising one arm to point at the bright streak momentarily visible in the sky above.
“Make a wish!”

“That’s okay, you make it,” Chris said, smile widening as he turned to press a kiss to Zach’s warm lips. They tasted of wine and
cherries and home. “I don’t need any more.”

Awwww.  I love this so much!