Hello, all! Sorry for the super-long absence.

... Can I just blame it on school and get on with the story?

Disclaimer: I don't own TWEWY or stars. Those belong to Jupiter/Square Enix and the universe, respectively.

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Of Stars

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"I wish I was a shooting star."

Joshua giggled. "And why's that?" He turned his head to look at the blonde girl. He faced her profile; her hair was spread out over the blanket of soft grass beneath them, her eyes turned to the sky with a look that Joshua had seen several times before but still couldn't properly describe.

"Because," Rhyme started, shifting slightly so that her arms lay down at her sides, "I could fly through the sky without a care in the world - travel hundreds of thousands of miles through space - and always be at home."

Joshua smirked and returned his own gaze to the stars. "Is that so? But wouldn't it be awfully lonely, being a star? It seems quite..." It was quite unsettling, really, for him to imagine her as a star way out there in space, so distant and untouchable. He didn't want to say that, though. "... Solemn for a girl as cheery and optimistic as yourself."

Rhyme shook her head, her hair rustling against the grass. "No, I don't think it would be. With all the other stars up there, it wouldn't be lonely. They may be light years away, but they look so..." She paused a moment as she let the right word come to her. "... So family-like."

"Family-like?" Joshua couldn't help but giggle. For such an intelligent girl, that seemed like an odd thing to say. It didn't surprise him, though; she did have quite the Imagination. More than that, however, there was something about her that made it so her words made perfect sense in some strange, incomprehensible way.

"Plus," Rhyme added, prompting Joshua to look over at her again, "stars are so... Safe, aren't they? When people see a shooting star, they look on in awe and make wishes. I... Want to be 'home' for all those people. For everyone."

There was a pause where Joshua's eternal smirk melded into a smile as he gazed at Rhyme and she gazed at the stars. Then he chuckled. "You know, I really can't believe some of the things that come out of your mouth," he said, and she giggled lightly.

"Yeah, I know. I still think it'd be nice, though." She rolled over to face him. "You would make a good star, Joshua."

"Oh?"

"Mhmm. You're bright enough to stand out amongst all the other stars, and you're cool enough to shine with just the right tint of blue."

"Makes perfect sense," Joshua chuckled with a sarcastic smirk, but Rhyme just smiled back at him.

"It does."

"In that case," he said, propping himself up on one elbow to look at her, "you would make a lovely star, yourself."

"I thought you said it was crazy!"

"Oh, it is. But I'm using your logic."

Rhyme giggled again as he examined her.

"Let's see... You would be a twinkling star. You giggle so much that you'd twinkle all the time."

"Okay," she grinned, "what else?"

Joshua looked at her thoughtfully. "You would be small."

"What?" she exclaimed in a jokingly insulted tone. Joshua held up a hand to show that he wasn't done.

"But," he said, fixating his eyes on hers, "you would be the brightest star in the sky."

Rhyme blushed faintly and looked away, back up at the night sky. "... You think?"

"Of course! Nothing's brighter than Raimu."

With that, he leaned over and took her lips in a kiss, catching her off-guard. When they broke apart, Rhyme looked hard at Joshua, her cheeks visibly pink under the starlight.

"... I take it back."

"Hmm?" Joshua raised an eyebrow, still smiling into the Bitou's sparkling blue eyes.

"I take it back. You're warm. You'd be tinted red or orange, not blue."

Joshua blinked at her dead-serious tone, then giggled and rolled over, pulling her close to him and wrapping her in another kiss.

"Whatever you say, my shooting star."

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S-so short lol. :'D I hope it was enjoyable nonetheless. Reviews are greatly appreciated~ Thanks for reading!