Cato and I have finally set boundaries. He respects my desire for space, for time to think 'us' through. Yet, we manage to never give 'us' a break. Instead, we build the idea of 'us' into a relationship that flows in unison. It's as if we never skipped a beat since he left for the academy.

Our interactions only increase as weeks go by. Instead of crossing by chance in the corridors, he begins visiting my bedroom in the night hours.

I let him in, but he's hardly coming to ease his lonely soul.

He brings in anything and everything to show to me: textbooks, star charts, business plans, boundless amounts of scientific articles—I can hardly keep track of this man's brain. Yet, I'm in awe of his brilliance.

Our nighttime visits overlap with evening chats in his study. I sit next to him as he works, and it soon becomes clear that he works through formulas and equations better out loud rather than in his head. Of course, I understand minimal arithmetic and science, but Cato hardly minds. My presence is enough.

Tonight, we scroll through images of the great beyond on his digital journal. Supernovas and nebulas illuminate the glass screen. He memorizes every detail—it's like every inch of the image means something new.

I lean my head on his shoulder as he speaks about his explorations, his low voice causing his body to vibrate. These past few weeks have only mended our strained friendship.

It's long past midnight when the digital journal suddenly dies from a dead battery. "Shit," he mutters.

I keep my cheek nestled into his shoulder as he tosses the tablet onto the table. He tilts his head downward, smiling against my crown as he strokes blonde strands away from my face.

"Can you stay awake?" he whispers into my hair.

I smile at the low warm tone of his voice. "And why's that?"

"There's a meteor shower tonight," he murmurs against me. I feel every movement of his lips. "I was planning on watching it alone, but I want you to join me."

"Is that an order, or are you asking me?" I question wryly.

He chuckles. "Say yes, Maureen. You can fall asleep later."

I don't hesitate to speak from my heart: "Yes."

Cato stands up and pulls me away from his desk. We sneak down the corridors, his eyes dancing around in case any servants catch us. We're like two teenagers trying to hide from one another's parents, but who do we run from? This is Cato's estate. If he wishes to sneak me around in evening hours, then he has all authority to do so.

Yet, the thrill of it ignites a part of me that lay dormant for so long.

We stand in front of a doorway as he fumbles with his keys. I still recognize the one on his keychain that opens the door to my old bedroom.

"Nobody will know we're in here," he whispers as the door clicks open. "Probably because it's the one space on the entire estate that's off limits."

Inside remains dark, presumably pitch black. When my eyes adjust to the lighting, I notice an open roof, as light moonbeams pour through the crack. The light contours a large telescope angled towards the stars. Here, without the distraction of city lights, the stars shine brighter than anything I've known.

And I believe I've finally arrived in the world Cato belongs in.

I hardly hear him shut the door. "Well? What do you think?"

"What is this place?"

"My observatory," his warm body grazes my arm, and I soon feel his fingers toying with my knuckles.

He pulls me towards the telescope in the centre of the room. Beside the telescope sits a small panel of buttons. Cato presses one with a sly smirk written across his face.

What happens next occurs like magic.

The panels on the roof shift more, opening up and unearthing the heavens in their full glory. The small opening before now grows to be a vast entrance to a world far from the one I know. Cato squeezes my hand, and I know he's gazing at the wide smile sprawling my cheeks.

This small moment brings me back to the Cato that I remember, the Cato I fell in love with growing up. It's a version of Cato I thought had disappeared, but one that I've reacquainted with these past few weeks.

The moon. The stars.

Cato.

My heart has never felt so full.

"This is beautiful," I breathe, my eyes locked on the constellations above our heads.

"You haven't seen the best part."

He ushers me in front of the telescope lens, plopping me down on the stool in front. He takes a hold of my shoulders, then presses his head up against mine. We're close, even if we define ourselves as friends, but I know Cato's mind is far from anything romantic.

Cato then touches my wrist, guiding it up to the telescope. He tours me through the galaxy, the both of us switching between gazing through the telescope and admiring one another.

Gosh, when I look at him now, my heart nearly overflows.

The happiness this boy feels is enough to fuel the sun for the rest of time.

"Look at this," he urges as he guides my eyes towards the lens. "Do you see it?"

A supernova—an explosion of a star when their time comes to an end. A spectacular spectrum of colour paints the bleak emptiness of space like an artist's canvas. The magenta hues streak across my sight, the stars made of gold twinkling like glitter.

I lose my breath for just a moment, then pull away to look at those forest green eyes. No matter how magnificent that supernova appeared, Cato's eyes somehow remain more of a delight.

They always seem to be filled with a constant beauty.

"It must be remarkable seeing sights like that everyday," I whisper to him.

"That's nothing compared to the rest of the galaxy."

"Do you miss it? Being up there?"

He pauses as his eyes drift from mine back up to the sky. Months have gone by since his return, and I wonder if he's planning on ever going back. I know of his routine. He still trains and maintains his anatomy for an expedition, and he keeps up with the records and research coming from other explorations that have occurred. Yet, he's been grounded from his world.

He's stuck in the misery of mine.

"I do," he mutters finally. "If I could stay up there forever, I would."

"Are you going back?"

He tenses as I ask this, as if he's afraid to give me the answer. "One day," he responds. "There's just so much shit I need to fix first."

"Like your father's bankruptcy?"

He winces. "Can we not talk about that?"

He stands up from behind me, his physique now towering over where I sit. He reaches for my hand, clasping his rough fingers around mine, then tugs me off the stool. He pulls me away from the telescope.

Cato then takes a seat on the floor, pulling me onto his lap. I gasp as I tumble onto him. Arms stabilize me as he secures me against his chest. He smells of pine, a typical Cato smell he always holds.

I breathe him in, and he seems to do the same as he digs his nose into my hair. We hold each other in our embrace, hanging onto moments laced with childhood adoration. The old Cato exists, and he's here now. I know he sees the same in me.

We cling onto what's familiar, and I'm afraid to let go.

He swallows, a hard lump suddenly forming in his throat. "Maureen?" he asks, his voice low.

I lift my head, meeting those green eyes.

"I can't do this anymore," he whispers. "I can't pretend."

I frown, pulling away from his embrace, but he only tethers me in closer. "Cato, please, what are you—"

"I want more," Cato's gaze fall from my eyes to my lips. "I want you."

My orbit stops as he speaks those words. It's a known fact that Cato struggles to control any lingering attraction towards me, but hearing him admit to wanting me, to desiring me, to coveting more with me... my heart begins its ascent to the moon.

I attempt to speak, but gibberish and fumbles leave my lips.

Cato hushes me with a brush of his thumb against my lower lip. "I want to wake up next to you, and bring you across the world and stars. I want to laugh with you, cry with you, fall in love with you..."

"Cato—" I breathe, searching those green eyes, only to find Cato's heart bursting from within.

"Maureen—"

It's my turn to hush him before he speaks another word. "I want that," I find myself saying. "I want everything you just said, and have ever since we were kids, but we're not the same. You have the world at your fingertips, and all I'll do is stop you from exploring it."

"You're the only thing left in this lifetime I want to explore," he whispers into my ear, his lips grazing over my earlobe.

It's then I find my willpower against him dwindling. Those barricades I attempted to build only collapse. He's like a storm that always rages that I can never stop. I look up at the sky, catching the start of the meteor shower streaking the heavens.

"What if everything goes wrong?" I breathe as he places his first kiss against my throat. It's soft, but hotter than the sun. "I'm afraid of losing you, and I feel like I just got you back."

"You're never going to lose me again."

"What if you leave? You were gone for six years."

"Then come with me. Be with me. Anywhere."

His lips bite up my neck, his mouth opening wide as he places kisses. A mixture of pain, of pleasure, of emotion and tension.

I've dreamed of this astronaut in my arms for so long. Now, all the pieces fall into place. Am I selfish to indulge in him? There's a new power in my veins as I lean my head back, unearthing more of my throat for his lips to conquer. I'm a weakness for him, a peon to be used against him.

Yet, I find myself infatuated with him: his mind, his voice, his body.

Cato lays me on the observatory floor. The stars still hang above our heads, our only audience. Every temptation I've felt because of him awakens. It's then our lips meet in a ravishing set of kisses.

My legs part around his torso, and my dress hikes up due to eager fingertips and chafing limbs. Cato's nails dig deep into my bare skin, his grip trembling as if he's afraid to let go.

"I promised I'd take you to the stars," he whispers as our kiss ends.

I gulp as he sits up. Button-by-button, he reveals his bare skin. It's a sight I've seen, but never like this. Never in a place where the world is now ours.

As I watch him become nothing but flesh, I do the same. I pull away ribbons and sleeves, only to have Cato's lips replace any fabric that once covered me. Kisses run down my shoulder, down between my breasts. His hands find them, kneading gently.

I shrug him out of his trousers, not expecting his underwear to fall with it. I can't help but stare. He's magnificent. Truly an immaculate sculpture sent directly from heaven itself.

Cato's eyes seem to be tracing the contours on my physique. Heat pours between my legs, and I know he can feel how wet I am against his skin.

"Cato?" I breathe as his eyes continue to drink up every inch of me.

He smirks at me, then takes a hold of my hips. His head disappears from my vision as soft air-light kisses fall from my breasts, down my naval, down to the wet folds between my legs.

"I could explore you for forever," he whispers.

With him, I see stars. Galaxies. Whole other worlds. We're clumsy, yet articulate. Graceful, yet rough.

He's my Cato.

My first love.

The brightest star in my sky.

-----

I'm not robbing you all completely of Cato smut ;) Don't you worry.

vote & comment & share & *hugs*