The night was clear, dressed in stars.

The sky had always been vast, dotted with bright spots — but you, among the few in the world, had the privilege of going beyond it.

Your stay in space was brief. Too short for someone trained to orbit the impossible, but long enough to change what you understood as "life." The glory, the cosmic silence, the heroic isolation... None of them compared to the intensity of the existence you led now — a more human existence. More emotional.

How many times, even before the great cataclysm, had you really stopped to think about yourself? How many times had you allowed yourself to think about a relationship?

Byakuya Ishigami knew the answer — perhaps because the same question haunted him too.

"It's never too late to try something new," he would say with that incorrigible smile of an optimistic ex-teacher.

The light that appeared was not an illusion. Everyone saw it — and everyone went down to confirm it. That which had illuminated the world had become a curse: a flash that calcified all of humanity. Statues. Where there was life, there was now stone. Only them remained. Seven souls in orbit. Seven survivors destined to continue Earth's history. You, Shamil, Yakov, Darya, Connie, Lillian... and Byakuya.

Yakov and Darya were already a couple — they even had children. Shamil and Connie had recently married, their eyes full of the future. Lillian, on the other hand, seemed oblivious to all of this. As if she knew... that Byakuya's heart already belonged to someone else. And she was right.

You.

Byakuya hummed as he adjusted a makeshift telescope, made from leftover technology from the spaceship. It was a rudimentary contraption — but it carried the weight and affection of a gift. A surprise.

“Seriously! I promise it will be fun!”

Those words still echoed in your mind as you climbed the hill to meet him. He had made the invitation so cheerfully that, for a moment, it seemed like just another one of his impulsive ideas. But when you got there, it was his concentration that took you by surprise. He didn’t notice you right away — a rare moment of absolute focus. But as soon as he noticed your presence, that warm glow in his eyes returned.

“Come on! Don’t just stand there.”

Without ceremony, Byakuya gently pulled you to where he was. He positioned you between him and the telescope — your back against his chest, his arms guiding your movements with a warm gentleness. The cold of the night was soon forgotten in his presence. The silence was comfortable. The gentle encouragement he gave you to look through the lens — almost childish in its excitement — had something sacred about it. And then, you saw it: the stars. The real ones. Seen through a simple telescope, but with the same beauty as when you were floating in space.

You barely noticed his breath brushing your skin. You were so absorbed in that vision... until his voice, low and close, made time stand still:

“I spent my life believing that the stars were destiny...” He paused dramatically. “But now I know that they only truly shine when we have someone to observe them with.”

A whisper straight to your ear. Without hesitation. Without hiding what he felt. Byakuya knew you better than anyone. He knew the layers behind your strength, your story. He knew that, even with the difference in age, size, past — the two of you found each other.

And that... was rarer than any shooting star.