Morning pours through Patrick's bedroom window, the glow of the day shining through his eyelids. He blinks his eyes open and finds Nia still sleeping peacefully beside him. A portion of relief washes over him as a gentle sigh escapes from him. The more he stares, the more features he finds of her.

Patrick notices the way Nia hogs the blankets. It would have bothered him with anyone else, but with her, he hadn't noticed at all through the night. He notices the way her hair tangles, some strands looping around one another to create stubborn snarls. He examines her form in the morning light, his sight snagging on the small marks created from last night's activities. Color rises to Patrick's face as he looks down at his own chest, finding purple circles along his collarbone and lines where fingernails had dragged hard enough to surface coloring.

I want this forever, he thinks to himself, his attention fixating on Nia again. He wants to wake up next to her, examine her beautiful morning flaws she finds to be hideous. To Patrick, Nia was a goddess from above despite her morning breath and groggy eyes. He wanted that to be the only thing he wakes up to every morning. He would curse God if he hadn't woken up the next day beside her.

Nia stirs from her comatose state, turning to face the boy beside her. Her puffy eyes open slowly, finding Patrick smiling down at her, admiring her. She returns a slothful smile.

"Morning," she mumbles, her voice raspy with slumber.
"Morning," Patrick replies gently as he brushes her tangling hair away from her face. His thumb traces smaller planets onto her cheek, causing her to smile even more at the touch.

"How're you feeling?" Patrick asks.
"Like I'm not fully awake yet," Nia chuckles with a small stretch of her stiff limbs. "Like... this is some dream I'll wake up from at any moment."
"Unfortunately, you're not dreaming. Sorry I'm not as pretty as you in the morning," Patrick jokes. Nia giggles sleepily, batting her hand in a dismissive way.
"Shut up, you're handsome in the morning," she yawns.

The two sit up, Nia finally letting Patrick have a portion of the covers even after she holds some slack close to her chest. Even her messy bed hair falls perfectly to Patrick. Nia looks over at the boy, biting back a laugh. Her hand delicately brushes along her markings from last night.

"We really... did that," she comments, a laugh of disbelief spilling from her. Even her finger tips leave trails of stars and cosmos on Patrick's skin. Nia's eyes flick up to Patrick's, a soft smile twitching at her lips.

"How was it?" she asks within a timid whisper.
"Great," he replies with a smile.
"I hope I didn't hurt you," Nia says quietly, examining the red lines on his chest.
"You didn't," Patrick reassures. "You know I mark easily."
"I had a great time, too, by the way," the girl blushes. Her full moon smile shines again, her tidal wave lip being claimed by it.
"Good," he says before leaning down and sharing a gentle peck with Nia. "I hope I didn't hurt you, either."

Nia shakes her head, a promising smile etched in her features. Her hair weaves into more potential tangles with the momentum of her response. Patrick looks over at the clock, finding it to be ten o'clock. A ghost of a smile claims his features as an idea stirs in his head.

"Let's get dressed, Space Girl," Patrick coaxes. "I wanna take you out for breakfast."
"Don't you mean brunch, Ghost Boy?" Nia vexes. It earns a playful glare from the blonde boy, creating a laugh from Nia. Patrick certainly wants this for the rest of his life.

"Either way, we gotta get dressed," he laughs. Nia groans jokingly with an eye roll as she shifts from the bed, taking the bed sheet with her. She manages to wrap it around her bare body before running off with the collection of fabric.

"C'MON, NIA!" Patrick scolds, being left with the duvet. To no avail, he hears Nia's laughter in the hallway as she escapes to the bathroom with her duffle bag. Patrick lets out a small, frustrated "tsk" as he climbs out of bed, slipping into one of last night's fabric barriers. He gathers a set of clean clothes to change into while he waits for his turn for the shower. He knows it'll be a long wait, as Nia takes long in the bathroom. He knows this from waiting for her in the car after already establishing meeting times in advance and a number of sleepovers they have had when they were children.

Patrick decides to use that waiting time to straighten up his room. Empty candy boxes lie on the floor beside the container that once held popcorn, but now houses the uncooked kernels. The bucket has also spilled onto its side, releasing a few pieces of crumbs. It must have fallen last night during the couple's exchanged love.

Memories of those moments flash in Patrick's head as he turns off the TV and DVD/VHS player. He smiles to himself, remembering how the galaxies in her palms gripped and caressed him. He remembers how soft her voice was— even her breaths seemed so delicate and quiet.

As he finishes gathering last night's garbage, he hears the water crash along the floor of the shower as Nia hums a tune slightly off key. With any other person, Patrick would have cringed to himself. But this was Nia. He loved everything about her.

He travels down to the kitchen, dumping the empty boxes and kernels in the trash can. On his route to returning to his room, Patrick notices the bathroom door ajar. Steam escapes the small, tiled room. Patrick catches a glimpse of Nia wrapped in a towel as she combs her hair. Red circles selectively scatter around her neck and chest.

A smile finds its way to Patrick's face as he listens to her hum a song he's sure he heard on the radio a few times. His heart leaps in his chest as he walks away, tearing his ears from the strangely satisfying symphony. It was never her nudity that made the organ in his chest beat erratically. It was her, alone. The way she sings, the way she smiles, the way she hogs the blankets from him. It has always been her.

"Hey, Buster," her voice sounds, drawing Patrick out of his trance. He hadn't noticed until now that she was standing at the doorframe, dressed. She had used makeup to cover his markings on her. Patrick smiles at Nia, her presence being enough to give him a slight out of body experience.

"You're up next," she says, pointing behind her to gesture towards the vacant bathroom. Nia studies Patrick, noticing something different. She tilts her head at the boy.

"You okay, sweetie?" she asks. Patrick shakes himself out of his minor trance, then nods. Even then, he still can't help but to stare at Nia, studying the way she carries herself and possesses many worlds and solar systems in her fingers.

"I just..." he stammers, letting out a short chuckle. "I am so in love with you, Nia."
"Where's all this coming from?" Nia asks with a chuckle. Patrick shrugs at the question, just letting his affection crash over him.

"I love you, Nia. I really hope you do know that," he stresses. The violet-eyed girl makes her way to Patrick. She cups his cheek in her hand, her thumb leaving the residue of stars on his skin.

"I love you too, 'Trick," she says gently. Her voice possesses a level of concern as she studies the boy. "I hope you know that too. Are you okay? Feelin' alright?"
"I'm fine," he beams. "I'm more than fine. I'm great."
"Well, get your great ass ready, lover boy," Nia teases with a smile. They share a kiss before Nia departs from Patrick to tug her shoes on. Patrick nods quickly and gathers his clothes to freshen up, but he lingers a little by the door, taking in Nia's beauty once more.

"I can feel you watching me, Ghost Boy," she scolds playfully. Patrick hesitates, then continues his path to occupy the bathroom. He never wanted to stop looking at Nia, the eighth wonder.

* * *

The couple decide to have brunch at a local cafe in Downtown. It always leads to Nia teasing Patrick for drinking so much coffee.

"It's not my fault it's so good," Patrick argues before sipping at another serving.
"Yeah, it is," Nia laughs. "You add stuff to it to—"

Patrick shakes his head, correcting the girl. Nia's violet eyes widen at the realization.
"Wait, you take it black? Nothing in it?" she gasps. Patrick gives a thumbs up at her epiphany.
"God, Buster, you're a monster!" she cringes. Patrick manages to smile against the ceramic mug. He almost wishes he were smiling against her constellation-bearing shoulders. Her freckles are covered by the sleeves of a t-shirt.

"I don't see how you could get energy from tea," Patrick retorts as he sets the cup down. "As far as I'm concerned, tea is for relaxation."
"Green tea has just about the same amount of caffeine as your pitch black coffee, doofus," Nia cackles.
"That's mostly sugar with the amount of honey you dumped in it," the blonde smirks.
"Honey and green tea are good for your voice. I thought Mr. Music Man would know that," she teases. "Of course, we both know it won't fix my horrible singing."
"Your bad singing is adorable," Patrick argues, a grin splitting on his face. Nia's cheeks turn a hue of pink at the compliment.

"Shut up," she giggles.
"No, I mean it," Patrick emphasizes. "Normally, I'd hate to hear anyone sing off key. But I love it when you do it."

Nia's pink cheeks burn a brighter red, a smile spreading on her face as she looks down at her mug bashfully. Patrick hardly sees Nia gush over compliments. With the image of that in front of him, he was even more certain that he wanted this for the rest of his life.

Patrick feels his smile fade into a mold of curiosity and nervousness.

"Nia? Darling?" Patrick hesitates, his voice weighted with concern. The cosmo-possessing girl looks up, her head still tilted down as her blush slowly subsides. Patrick's heart performs flips from that one look. He realizes how her eyelashes weave together all the while being perfectly fanned out. Patrick blows out a puff of air and gathers the strength to continue.

"Where, uh... Where do you see this going?" he asks, motioning towards the invisible but present aura between them.
"Us?" Nia asks. Patrick nods. "What do you mean?"
"Do you see... us... having something in the future?" he forces out. Patrick screws his eyes shut and dives into more of an explanation. "Because I do. I don't know if you feel the same and it's okay if you don't. Maybe I'm out of my mind on this, I don't know. Maybe I'm being stupid—"
"Buster," Nia giggles. Her hand rests on Patrick's wrist, drawing him out of the dark spiral he was headed down. Nia locks her fingers between his. Even their hands feel like perfect puzzle pieces.

His blue eyes navigate to her purple ones as she traces small shapes on the back of his hand with her thumb.

"Patrick, just focus on me. Okay?" Nia says gently. He nods, realizing what she is doing. It makes him realize his own state of mind. He was nearing a panic attack. Something in Patrick's chest settles at the fact that Nia knew him probably just as well as he knew her.

Nia removes her hand from his grasp and cups his cheek. His hand follows hers, resting upon it as he takes a few deep breaths.

"Sorry about that," Patrick murmurs. Nia smiles sweetly at the boy.
"It's okay, it's not your fault," she says. "Are you calmer?"

Patrick nods, but he keeps Nia's hand on his cheek just to have comfort and nebulas spread through him.

"Yes, I do see us having a future together," Nia states. Her voice remains calm and soothing. It must have been a technique her therapist had used on her when anxiety had the best of her. Patrick starts to wonder if her therapist knows everything about him.

"I honestly wouldn't want to be with anyone else," Nia continues, her smile widening. It's contagious enough to spread to Patrick. He wouldn't have it any other way either.

A/N:
Hey wOW!!!! 1K READS AND OVER 100 VOTES!!!! GUYS???? Thank you so much!! I'm so glad you guys are enjoying this! :) it really means a lot to me!

As of right now, I'll be tunnel vision (pun intended) on this fic until it's finished. I'm not rushing, don't worry! I have many more things in store! ;)

Much love and thanks!
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