❝The second star to the right shines in the night for you, to tell you that the dreams you plan really can come true.❞
-Peter Pan

***

I kissed her hard. I kissed her harder than I have ever kissed her before. I kissed her as if it were the last time I would ever kissed her. I kissed her in the pool, her lips wet and tasting like chlorine. I kissed her in the elevator, our bodies jolting slightly from the quick stop at the third floor. I kissed her in our room, our wet t-shirts pressed against one another as we tried to get warm, our wet bodies shivering from walking back to our room. I just kissed her. There was nothing else, there was no heated moment, there was just us, our lips pressed against one another, our bodies holding each other tightly. Her and I, the original recipe. That's how our night ended, by us laying next to one another in the same bed, laughing and talking, and ending the night with a kiss. I didn't need that extra bed after all.

**********

We woke up at 8:30 A.M., for I wanted to have enough time to shower before we left. Maya wanted to shower, too, but because she doesn't wear much makeup or do anything with her wild blond hair, we were checking out of the hotel at exactly 9:23, giving us seven minutes to kill before the museum opened. However, those seven minutes were spent in traffic, as we made our way across the city and towards the planetarium.

"I'm so excited," she bounces in the front seat, her hair still wet against her face. "We didn't get a view of the stars last night, but we will today," she smiles.

"That we will," I grin, the thought of last night makes me giddy. "Let's see all the shows," I suggest as we pull into the parking lot.

"All?" She gapes, as if it's impossible.

"All," I confirm. "I didn't drive an hour and a half for nothing," I say, despite this trip being all but nothing.

"Let me pay for some, okay? Or one?" She presses, only I shake my head.

"You bought me ice cream, that's enough for me."

"Clark!"

"Maya!"

"Don't do this, I'm serious. You paid for my hotel room, you payed for my ticket here, don't make me feel like I'm mooching off of you," she whispers.

"You're not mooching off of me," I scoff. "Stop thinking like that."

"I can't help it, not when I could never give you any of this."

"How many times do we have to go through this?" I mumble.

"As many as you'll see that's how I feel when you do this."

"I just want to have a good weekend with you, Maya, okay? A weekend you'll always remember."

"I know you do," she replies, remaining quiet until we reach the front doors and are met by the same man we seen yesterday.

"Good morning, you two!" He smiles brightly. "And, do you have your tickets today?" He asks me with a wink.

"I do, actually," I reply as I get out my phone and show him the two tickets I had just bought the previous day.

"Looks good to me. The box office is over there if you want to buy tickets for any of the shows. Have fun," he smiles, brightening up my mood.

"He's so nice," I say, thankful we didn't meet a grumpy guard last night. He sort of reminds me of Kirby from The Suite Life on Deck, only a smarter version.

"Yeah," she mutters. "He is."

"Let's get happy," I nudge her. "We're in America's oldest planetarium ever. This is about the stars, the planets, the galaxies, Maya. This is about everything you and I love."

She looks up at me, and I watch a smile come across her lips. "It really is exciting, isn't it?"

"There's the spirit!" I cheer, before we walk towards the box office. "We would like tickets to the shows, please," I tell the lady behind the counter.

"Which ones?" She asks, before showing us a list of the ones playing.

"Clark, if we go to all of them, we won't get to look around much. They're pretty much one after the other," she points out, and I decide she's only saying this to get me from buying a ticket to all the shows, despite how what she's saying is actually true.

"Okay, how many do you want to see then?" I ask her, not wanting to get her upset. It's a new day, a new day full of new possibilities. Possibilities that I hope will make us happy. After all, that's what this was for, anyway, to make her happy.

"Let's just see one, okay? They're so many things to do here by the size of the building."

"Are you sure?" I ask her, wanting to make sure she doesn't want to see anymore.

"I'm sure," she promises, before smiling at the lady.

"Okay. What's the best one?" I ask the lady, wanting to get the full universe experience."

"Personally, I like Planet Nine, it's about the question of whether there are eight planets in our solar system, or nine. Thought provoking, and beautiful," she promises.

"Sounds good to me. Two tickets to see Planet Nine, then."

"All righty. Twelve-thirty, one-thirty, or three-thirty?" She asks us.

"Three-thirty," Maya speaks up beside me. "By then, we'll have seen all of the planetarium, right? Before having to come back and watch the show then go explore again. We can just watch the show and then it'll be closing and we'll have seen everything we wanted to, right?" She says, hoping I agree.

"Right," I smile back. "Two tickets to the 3:30 show, please."

"All right, dears, here's two tickets," she tells us after I pay, only to give us two tickets. I give Maya hers, and I put mine in my pocket. "Enjoy."

"Thank you," we both reply in unison, before I take her hand and we begin to explore.

"Look at that!" Maya points to a large solar system suspended over our heads. "Jupiter is so pretty," she comments.

"Yes, it is," I agree. "However, it's not prettier than you."

"Psh," she scoffs, but I catch a tint of red in her cheeks. "Let's go read what it says about Jupiter. Only, of course, if you want?" She looks up at me once again, and I look down on her. This wasn't exploring space in our rocket, this wasn't becoming an astronaut or engineer, but this was something that I could give her now. I could give her Jupiter. I could give her the stars. She may not be able to reach out and touch them, but she's going to be able to look up at them.

"I want to," I tell her, for I do. I want to do all of this with her, see all of this with her. I want to explore among the stars, to gaze out of the telescope with her by my side. That's what I want in this life, to be with her. To spend these moments with her.

"Let's go then!"

**********

We explored around, looking at exhibits, talking about everything we were looking at. We got to look through a telescope, we got to learn more about Armstrong's adventures on the moon. We got to explore in the Community Design Lab, where we could put our knowledge of rocket science down to see if it would work. That was one of the best parts, trying out ideas and seeing if we were anywhere near the qualifications of working at NASA. We got to walk through the universe, with the exhibit The Universe: A Walk Through Space and Time, letting us admire the millions of stars around us. Letting me watch Maya reach out and place her hands on the screen, as if she was catching the stars in her palm. I had to try this myself, and when she wasn't looking, I took a picture of her standing there, her hands on the screen as she admired all the stars in front of her. I even made it my background on my phone.

We got to walk through the Clark Family Welcome Gallery, which was incredible all on it's own. Not to mention the vibrant lighting experience it gave us. We seen everything we possibly could in those few hours we were there. We laughed, we gasped, we pointed, we smiled, we were happy. We may not be happy all the time, we may argue, but I knew that in those moments, we were truly happy. I was with her, exploring space, the one thing we both love more than anything besides each other, how could I not be happy?

"Alright," I say after checking the time. "We need to head to the theater if we want to watch Planet Nine."

"Okay," she smiles, before taking my hand, both of us skipping down to where the theater is.

Handing our tickets in, we find a seat and just wait. "I'm so excited about this. Actually, I'm just excited about all of this, from coming here and being with you, to watching this show. Thank you, Clark, thank you so much," she tells me. It's dark in the theater, but I can still see her smile through the dark, and her shining brown eyes.

"No, Maya, thank you. For coming on this adventure with me, for being my best friend, for making me so happy." However, instead of making her smile, my words make her jaw quiver. I'm just about to ask her if she's crying, when the show starts and interrupts me. I almost can't get into it — my mind on Maya's behavior — until the flashing colors of our universe comes across the screen, and I'm sure I've never seen anything as spectacular as what's before me — besides the girl sitting next to me, of course. For, despite all the beautiful colors we're being exposed to, despite all the facts about Pluto we're hearing, nothing compares to holding her hand. To assuring her it's going to be okay. To kissing her. To watching her look out at the stars. To take a picture of her while she stands there in thought and hope. To watch her eyes light up as she watches the galaxies dance around us during the show. Nothing compares, to her. She is truly a wonder, and I find a few stray tears in my eyes, for being so happy as I sit here next to her. I have my love beside me, watching a show about the planets in America's oldest planetarium, what could possibly be better than that?