The stars were always such a spectacle. Venus liked to look up at them in the darkest hour and watch them sparkle. Each their own little ball of gas and light. Each unique and strong, living at peace with the balance of life.

Max mentioned once how Celeste used to love the stars, too.

Venus liked to remember it a lot.

She peered out of the small window on the side of the lab to get a dim image of the stars that night. It was compelling after watching the video of her mother. She also liked to imagine her mother in her shoes, watching the night sky at some point in time. Their actions would align like an eclipse.

Her eyes drooped. Venus felt a wave of fatigue fall over her. So much she didn't hear the footsteps behind her.

Spider had been looking for a cup of water when he saw her. Venus was slumped over in an uncomfortable chair, chin resting on her palm with those pretty brown eyes. He began to step toward her. "Vee?"

She jumped and whipped her head around. So much for a wake up call. "Spider?" She asked aloud. Her cheeks flushed when he put his finger to his lips and shushed her softly. In her surprise, she had forgotten to keep quiet while the other scientists slept.

The walls were mostly thin.

"What are you doing?" He whispered, walking forward to look outside.

Venus brought her hands down to her lap and fiddled with them. "It's stupid," she mumbled, looking down. For a reason he couldn't fathom, she was humiliated by her fascination. Her brown eyes looked anywhere but his. "I just... was looking at the stars."

He saw how dull they looked from this angle. Before he could think and doubt, Spider started talking again. "This angle sucks," she furrowed her brows at him. "I know a better spot, but it's outside. You down?"

She scratched her cheek for a moment, thinking hard. She never liked staying outside, especially during the night. Venus grasped his hand and pursed her lips. "Only if you can promise it's safe."

His cheeks flushed a light pink, giving a quick glance down at their the contact of their hands. He felt frozen at her touch, bringing him back to the day they first held hands. His gaze fell back to her pretty brown eyes that held every emotion he could think of.

She was scared, but curious. 

He felt the urge to pull her close and kiss her grow stronger. He wanted her.

"Spider?" She brought him back from his daydream. "Are you okay?"

He nodded and gave her an awkward smile, hoping she didn't catch onto his feelings. "Yeah, totally." 

It wasn't long before Venus secured an exo-pack mask on her face and grimaced at the feeling. "This is so weird," she commented, wiggling the mask around with a scowl. She turned to Spider. "How do you keep this on for the entire day?"

He shrugged. "I got used to it, I guess." The outer door hissed open.

Venus hadn't spent many days outside a lab, especially in recent years. Since they set up camp in a tunnel network in the Hallelujah Mountains, she was always too scared to go out and explore. That was more of Spider's line of work.

Spider grabbed her hand and led her outside. She eagerly trailed behind him, brows furrowed in worry. For some reason, Venus never forgot the day she twisted her ankle in the forest. 

They weaved their way through the tents of the natives (courtesy to Spider) until he brought her to the edge of the cave, thousands of feet above the ground.

Venus kicked a small pebble over and watched it fall down until she couldn't see it anymore. She turned to face him. "Absolutely not."

"Come on," Spider begged. "You're already here, and you're not gonna fall." He took her hands into his with a pout. He wondered if he stared into her eyes long enough, he would get lost in them.

She thinned her lips and sighed. "What are you gonna do if I fall?"

He was pleasantly surprised. "Hm?"

"I mean," Venus glanced back down. "If I fall over, like, I lose my balance or something, are you gonna catch me? How am I gonna explain to Max what happened if I get hurt? Am I gonna have to lie to him? I'm a terrible liar,"

Spider gave her hands a firm shake. "I will not let anything happen to you, I promise." He gazed into her brown eyes. Pretty brown eyes, like the sun or the stars above them she wanted to see. His heart sped up involuntarily the more they held eye contact. 

Venus was the one to break it first, too oblivious to realize how intimate the moment felt. "Are you sure?"

"Positive." 

She huffed and waved him in another direction. "Okay, take me there."

Venus watched as Spider looked up to the ledge above them. She got the memo instantly. "Oh, no," she backed away from him, shaking her head. "Absolutely not."

Before she could move any further, Spider grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him. "Vee, I promise it's not scary. It's so easy to get up-"

"-Well, of course it's easy for you!" She gestured to his body. "You've been climbing trees before we could walk. You have the experience here."

"Not my fault you stay in a lab all the time." He teased.

Venus faked a gasp and narrowed her eyes. "Okay, first off," she was cut off by a chuckle that escaped his throat. Before she could protest, he pulled her toward a series of natural steps up to the ledge.

"It's easy," he gave her hand a squeeze. "I swear,"

She ripped her hand away from him and gave the boy a playful glare. "I still don't like your insult, monkey boy." Her eyes shifted up and down his figure in a pretend judgment before looking back at the rocks of steps.

Venus managed to get above them and onto the rock ledge Spider talked up, sitting down in the middle of the rock. She glanced down over the edge and bit her lip. The boy sat next to her and lightly grasped her jaw to turn up to the sky.

She was stunned at the beauty above her.

Polyphemus was visible, as well as other moons that orbited the planet. The stars twinkled like the old children's books said. Venus let out a short breath in shock. An unconscious smile made its way onto her face.

It suddenly felt so clear why her mother loved to look at the stars. They were breathtaking. Especially if Celeste came from a planet of pollution and a lack of nature, the stars were beautiful.

Spider liked to think Venus was just as pretty as them.

She turned to the boy with a wild grin and laughter bubbling out of her mouth. "Spider, do you see the sky?" Venus gave a quick glance back up and put a hand over her mouth, though it was blocked by the glass of the mask. "It's so pretty,"

Spider nodded, not taking his eyes off of the girl he had become infatuated with. "Yeah, it is." He whispered. She was a wild card, a mind full of thoughts. Her heart and soul were pure like the seeds of Eywa.

Spider didn't think any form of nature could compare to her beauty. She was a breath of fresh air after suffocating for so long. He had more of Venus in his heart than himself. She was the brightest star in the sky, radiant like every sun in the universe.

When Venus glanced back at him in his silence, she found his eyes reciprocating already. Her breath hitched at his proximity, short and quiet exhales fanning against the mask in a quick fog.

Spider was gazing at her so intently, so closely, she felt vulnerable.

Her body glazed over in a heat, cheeks burning hot against her brown skin. Venus watched as he got lost in her eyes, loosing track of her thoughts and mind. Her circuits were going haywire, gears catching fire and rutting against each other.

His face was drifting closer. Venus didn't even feel herself tilt her head forward to match his actions. 

One of his hands came up and placed itself gently over the side of her glass mask. His thumb rubbed over softly, wishing it was her soft skin below. The moment was so electrifying, every graze of his skin against hers feeling like a spark.

Spider wished so badly there wasn't the barrier of their exo-packs between them. He caught the perfect moment to smash his lips into hers, to kiss her so roughly and softly however he wanted.

Her pillowy lips looked too good to leave unattended.

His gaze fluttered from her eyes to her lips. The moment felt intimate, every sound being muted. It was just them, in their own little world, light years away from their home planet of Earth. Just as Spider leaned a little closer, Venus realized what had been happening.

She didn't have feelings for Spider. She didn't. Venus had no idea what was happening between them. This was uncharted territory that had never been explored before. Nothing between them ever felt so real and heart stopping.

Sure, they held hands once in a while and he gave her a hug when she was mourning, but he never got close enough to kiss her. Venus wanted to trick her mind, to not want whatever was happening, to stay out of the romantic business for longer.

What is going on? she repeated in her mind over and over.

Venus pulled away her head and moved his hand away from her face. Her eyes were trained to the ground as she stood up. "Um, thanks, I guess." She couldn't bear to look at his disappointed and clueless face.

That night, Venus left Spider in the dust with a heart beating out of her chest and wide eyes.

If she glanced back even once, she would have seen how badly he wanted her.

sorry y'all, happiness was never an option. also, none of this is proofread so idc if there are mistakes. sorry for leaving y'all on hold for like a couple days ish, i didn't have motivation to write, but i threw in a couple extra hundred words to this chapter, love you guys <33

canon interaction with venus and spider at some point:

spider: hey, i found some oldies music from like a hundred years ago in some box

venus: oh, cool, turn it on

*playboi carti and nicki minaj plays*

I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS IM SO STUPID I LEFT MY CHAPTER PLAN IN THIS AND I DIDN'T EVEN CHANHGE THE FONT OF THE TITLE IM FUCKING CRYING