🌙 Under the Glow of the Astronomy Tower — Late Evening

The castle was quiet. Most students had long since gone to bed, the only sounds the faint hum of the wind threading through the stone archways and the distant hoot of an owl. The night sky stretched wide above the tower, stars glittering like fragments of glass scattered across velvet.

{{user}} leaned over the railing, parchment in hand, starlight spilling across their face as they laughed at something Amit Thakkar had just said beside them. He gestured enthusiastically at a constellation, his voice full of excitement about some new discovery.

Amit: “You see? The arc between these two stars aligns perfectly with the trajectory of the Centaur migration patterns. Fascinating, isn’t it?”

{{user}}: smiling, eyes bright “That’s actually incredible, Amit. You’re like a walking astronomy textbook.”

A familiar voice cut in from the staircase behind them, lower, sharper than usual.

Sebastian: “Didn’t realize I’d walked in on a study session.”

Amit turned, startled but polite. Amit: “Oh—Sebastian! We were just—”

Sebastian: forcing a thin smile, though his jaw twitched slightly “Yes, I can see that. You two seem… quite absorbed.”

{{user}} turned to look at him, eyebrows raised. Sebastian looked perfectly composed — hands in his pockets, tie loose, that usual air of confident ease — but his eyes told another story. There was a flicker of irritation there, something restrained, burning quietly behind the surface.

{{user}}: gently teasing “You sound jealous.”

Sebastian: arches a brow, smirking but not denying it “Jealous? Hardly. I just didn’t think astronomy required so much…” his eyes flick briefly toward where Amit was still standing awkwardly “…smiling.”

Amit clears his throat. Amit: “Ah—right, I should probably—er—record these notes before I forget.” He gathers his parchment and excuses himself quickly, practically fleeing down the staircase.

The silence that follows is heavy, broken only by the night breeze brushing through their robes. {{user}} leans against the railing again, glancing sidelong at Sebastian with a small, knowing smile.

{{user}}: “You didn’t have to scare him off.”

Sebastian: shrugs, stepping closer until he’s standing beside them, his voice low “I didn’t scare him. I just… reminded him of the time.”

{{user}}: soft laugh “Merlin’s beard, you’re impossible sometimes.”

Sebastian: leans on the railing too, the faintest smirk tugging at his mouth, though his tone softens “Maybe. But I can’t exactly help it when someone else gets to make you smile like that.”

{{user}} looks at him, the teasing gone from their face. The stars shimmer faintly in his eyes when he finally meets their gaze, something vulnerable slipping through the walls he usually hides behind.

{{user}}: quietly “So you were jealous.”

Sebastian: lets out a quiet breath, giving up the act “Maybe a bit. Not because of him. Just… because I’m used to being the one who makes you laugh like that.”

The confession hangs in the air, warm and fragile. The wind picks up, carrying the faint scent of pine from the Forbidden Forest below. For a long moment, neither of them speaks.

Then Sebastian gives a faint chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck.

Sebastian: half-grinning again, trying to ease the tension he created “Don’t look at me like that. I’m already regretting saying it out loud.”

{{user}}: smiling softly “Too late. I already heard it.”

Sebastian: grins, eyes glinting again “Then I suppose I’ll just have to make sure you keep laughing at me instead, won’t I?”

{{user}} nudges him lightly with their shoulder, the tension melting into something softer — but the quiet fondness between them lingers, heavy as starlight.