Summary: Sloane takes Aaron on a star gazing date
Word Count: 919
Aaron carried a thick blanket under his arms, and a pair of binoculars around his neck as he trailed behind an excited Sloane. She marched through the inch-high grassy field, cradling her telescope, flashlight, and charting journal, along with a drawstring bag of snacks. They were the only ones out there, having made the short trek from Aaron’s car. “Over here, Aaron!” she called, her silhouette outlined by the fading light. When Aaron looked up, he could see the moon, just a sliver glowing bright against the clear sky. He unfolded the blanket and laid it out over the ground, while Sloane set up shop with her telescope, already tripping over her words as she explained the basics of stargazing. “Here, and this is the chart my mom got me back in middle school,” she opened her journal, failing to catch the loose papers that fell from the covers of the book. Aaron leaned down to pick them up, flipping over a page with an illustration of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.
“It’s a little too light outside for us to see the stars well, but tonight’s sunset is scheduled for eight thirty-nine,” she said, peeking at the watch around Aaron’s wrist. With the exception of showers and sleeping, he never took her gift off. “That gives about a half hour from now,” he calculated, and met Sloane’s eager smile with a grin of his own. “Oh, what will we do with ourselves for thirty whole minutes,” he winked, and Sloane happily lifted the rest of her chart pages, wagging them in Aaron’s face.
“Track down Venus!”
“…We can do that too,” Aaron laughed, and Sloane’s face burned in realization. She suddenly busied herself with the bag, pulling out a bag of popcorn, but Aaron refused to let her be embarrassed for long. He took her hand in his. “Tell me about the stars, Sloane.”
They sat on the blanket together, Sloane with her legs tucked underneath her, head against Aaron’s chest, as she shared her past journal entries with him, snacks forgotten. “It started with the earth moon phases, and then I kind of graduated to charting Jupiter’s moons, and then the positions of the crescent phases of Venus.” She flipped a few pages forward, past constellation notes, until she stopped on another page entitled ‘Crescent Phases, D.C., 2015/2016’. He admired her precise scrawl, and the rudimentary sketches of the planet positions, viewing it as another pathway into Sloane’s inner world. “I did these when I visited my mom,” she turned to look up at Aaron, happy to share this moment with him.
Sloane was aware of just how boring and tedious looking at the night sky could be, which made her realize just how special Aaron was. He seemed to hang on her every word, and not just in this moment. Whenever she had complicated ideas she needed to talk through with someone, or watched a TED talk online about the relationship between quantum biology and modern theories that had radically changed her viewpoint teleportation, Aaron was all ears, asking questions not because he knew she was interested, but because he cared to know too. Even when she realized he didn’t quite understand, his attention never wavered. Even now.
Sloane placed her hand on his cheek, bringing her lips to his. The kiss deepened, and Sloane pushed Aaron on his back, straddled him from above. “Not a bad view from down here,” he joked, and even though the sky retired its orange-pink tint in favor of the usual nightly black, Aaron’s eyes never left Sloane’s face. “I love you,” he whispered. It wasn’t the first time he’d said it, and it wouldn’t be the last. She lightly traced the shape of his lips with her fingertips, smiling. “I love you.”
Aaron felt her hand graze across the front of his jeans, suddenly tight as she dragged her fingertips up and down. “Sloane,” he murmured, even more aroused by the giggle that escaped Sloane’s lips. She reached to loop her fingers through his hair, slowly grinding against him, his body responding as a soft moan escaped his lips. Before she could increase the tempo, Aaron flipped them so he was now on top. Whatever Sloane had planned to say was lost once she saw the darkened sky herself. She moved her head, slapping Aaron’s arm as she pointed skyward. Sloane was scampering for her telescope before he knew what was happening. “Who else can say they’ve been cockblocked by a bunch of stars,” Aaron muttered to himself. It was a bit of a struggle to walk through the bulge of his jeans, but he wasn’t annoyed for long as Sloane pulled him over to look through the lens. He bent down, pressing his eye against the eye piece. “We can see it just fine without the telescope, but nothing beats seeing it up close and personal. The second brightest point you see? That’s Betelgeuse.” Aaron looked at the assembly of points surrounding the reddish star, wondering why it looked so familiar yet foreign to him.
“Wait…” he straightened up, watching the way Sloane’s face lit up, then looked back at the sky without the telescope’s aid. “Orion?” He didn’t have to ask. He was sure. Just as sure as he was of the beautiful woman who stood next to him. “C’mere you,” he pulled her towards him, pressing his lips to her temple as she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest.
long post playchoices fanfiction perfect match mc x sloane pm sloane washington aaron park aaron x sloane