The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era [BL]

ASTRID stared at Wulfric's face. He was looking at the side, the tip of of his lips slightly protruding. As if... pouting.

This seemed to be unlike him. Usually, as soon as he called, the other would show him the brightest of smile. Or, at least, the brightest one he could manage.

No matter the reason for this unusual behavior, it certainly had something to do with him. Because there's no way Wulfric would be acting like this because of work. If that was so, then what could have happened for the other to act like this? He couldn't remember anything he had done, or anything that could have happened recently that could elicit such a reaction, though.

Well, there's no use mulling over it when he could just ask the other.

"Wulf, is there something wrong?" he asked straightforwardly. "Why are you sulking?"

That last question turned Wulfric's gaze back to him. With a red face, he stammered, "Wh-who's sulking?"

"You are," Astrid said, blinking innocently.

"I--" Wulfric stopped, his face fully blushing like an overly ripe tomato. "Fine! Maybe I am sulking."

Astrid almost chuckled. But he stopped himself and asked, acting all confuse. "Why though?"

When the other didn't answer, he felt like he had to use his secret weapon.

In no time, tears started to well in his eyes. "Is- is it because of me? Did I do something wrong? Was it because I didn't mention you in my award speech last night?"

When Wulfric saw those unshed tears, he felt his heart beat skip. He was immediately filled with self-blame.

So, quickly said, "That's not it! I'm not that shallow, you know? It's because of— never mind. Maybe what I will say would be just as shallow. And even petty to boot. It's not your fault.

It's because I'm still too narrow-minded."

Of course, Astrid knew that it's not because of what he just said. It never even crossed his mind. He just said it to get the right reaction from the other. And that's to have a clue as to why Wulfric was acting like this.

Since the other had already started to talk, there's no reason to continue acting. His tears quickly dried up.

"If you think it's petty, then it must be related to me," he said. "Why don't you tell me what it is?"

Wulfric seemed to have come back to his senses when he saw Astrid quickly changing his expression.

"You--" An almost helpless sigh escaped him. "You shouldn't really use your acting skills on me. You know how I'm easily affected by your actions. One of these days, you might even become the cause of my heart failure."

"I hate for that to happen," Astrid said in all seriousness. "And I'm sorry for using my acting skills against you. But in my defense, I just really want to know what you're sulking about. You don't want to escalate it to a real problem, right? Or a big misunderstanding, for that matter."

Wulfric was silent for a moment. Then he finally let out a sigh of defeat. "I should warn you, it's very petty."

"Well, I'm already used to your shenanigans. So..."

"I feel like I should be offended. But because it was you said it, I can't even muster the energy to take offense."

Astrid only smiled at that. "So, what is it, then? What's the reason of you being so pouty?"

Wulfric gazed down, and then, as if finally getting the courage to talk, he raised his head and said, "There's a photo of you with that... dark chocolate fondue circling around [Cybernet]. The comments on it just upset me."

Astrid tilted his head. His brain seriously had to do some weird gymnastics just so he could figure out who this 'dark chocolate fondue' Wulfric was talking about.

When he finally did realize who it was, he no longer stopped the laugh he had been holding in since earlier. This was not only because his reason for sulking was truly, well, petty. It was because of the description he used to describe the other person - dark chocolate fondue.

Did he realize that's hardly an insult? In fact, it's more of a compliment. After all, chocolate fondue was delicious. It's like he's saying, in a rather roundabout way, that the other person was hot.

"Are you talking about Caleb Pretorius?" he asked, still wheezing a bit.

"See? You're laughing. I knew you'll think I'm petty," Wulfric grumbled.

"Hey, give me some benefit of the doubt here," Astrid said. "I'm laughing because I think you're absolutely adorable."

Wulfric was obviously taken aback by this comment. It seemed that he hadn't expected Astrid to say that.

"A-adorable? Me?"

"Uh-huh." Astrid smiled. "Wulf might not be aware of this, but sometimes, you would act in this manner that I just find... very adorable. Just like now."

Wulfric cleared his throat, feeling all embarrassed. As evidence of the blush on his face. "If I can earn brownie points by acting silly, then, I guess, it's fine by me. If it's for you, I can act silly for the rest of my life."

That automatically brought a smile to Astrid's lips. "That's a very long lifetime, then."

"If I can spend my whole life with you, no matter how long it might be, it wouldn't be enough."

That statement almost made Astrid's heart skipped a beat. Maybe it did. That's why it was beating so hard and so fast right now.

Because what Wulfric said was almost like a proposal. And based on the other's expression right now, he didn't seem aware of it. Like he just mentioned the weather.

This made Astrid a bit helpless, and maybe a tad bit frustrated. Mostly because he honestly didn't know how he should react. Should he delve in deeper by teasing Wulfric about it, or should he just change the subject and move on?

At the end, Astrid chose the latter. It's not that he's running away. He's just not ready to talk about something so serious when his feelings for Wulfric were still probably not on the same level as his.

He's getting there, though.

So, maybe they could talk about this freely in the future.

But not now. At least, not at this moment.

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