Chapter 17 – Under the Stars

Half an hour later Starlight, in her red hoverboarding attire, showed up at the park to find Constantine slowly pacing among the bushes and stone cubes. Rosy golden rays of the setting sun added colorful strokes to his gray attire and dark hair. He turned to greet her and eyed suspiciously the two objects she was carrying. One was her guitar in its case. The other was a rather large plastic basket.

"What's this?" he asked, curious.

"Surprise!" she sang. "That's a picnic basket!"

"A picnic basket?" he said doubtfully.

"Yeah, you know, when you want to have lunch outside, and you gather up some snacks and…" Then it dawned on her. "You've never had a picnic, have you?"

"No. Why would I want to have lunch outside? That's ridiculous."

"Well, you can hang out with friends, and roll on the grass, and tell silly stories…"

He regarded her like she was one very strange creature.

"Well, forget the rolling on the grass part," she giggled. "My point is, it's fun. And I've never even seen you eat anything, let alone having fun doing it."

"Okay," he said blankly, and she was pretty sure he'd picked the word from her. "How do we do it, then?"

"First, we should find a nice spot to set up.'

"A bench?" Constantine contributed.

"Yes, a bench will have to do."

Since there were no lawns, it was the only option. They found a bench (that was really no different from all the others) and Starlight spread a small cloth onto it, then sat down next to the cloth and took out some food from the basket, along with plates, glasses, and napkins.

"It's mostly sandwiches, pastry, and fruit," she said. "I consulted our team's food whizz to pick just the right things for a picnic."

Constantine perched on the other side of the improvised table and examined the items.

"Aren't you hungry?" Starlight asked. "Frankly, I didn't have a chance to have a proper dinner today, what with all excitement and stuff."

"Ravenous," admitted Constantine, still not touching the food.

"So let's tuck away!" She unwrapped a huge sandwich and bit into it. "Uh, dewifoush!" she mumbled through it. "Delicious," she clarified after she'd chewed up the bit and gulped it down.

Constantine looked at her as if she'd just done a triple flip in the air and was expecting him to do the same.

"Um, I'm not sure it is becoming of the king to eat publicly," he said. "It's… bad manners, I suppose."

"Are you kidding?" she stared at him. "After a whole day of starving you refuse to eat anything just because we are... er, in public? What's so public about this place, no one ever comes here."

Constantine sighed and carefully picked a sandwich. "It's more of a habit. I'm not used to eating with people around. It makes one look ridiculous."

"Not at all!" reassured Starlight, spilling bits of salad all over her knees. "Well, maybe just a bit. But that's the fun of it! C'mon, you have to try. If Leo were here, he would have swallowed it all in a gulp!"

The mere mention of the Kumaian prince filled Constantine with grave resolute. He unwrapped the sandwich and took a careful bite.

"Well?" asked Starlight, unable to tell anything by his thoughtful expression.

"It's a bit dry," was his verdict.

"I have some ketchup here." She checked the basket. "Uh, no, I forgot it. I only have my ketchucream. My invention. And no one likes it, except me."

"Not even Leo?" asked Constantine, his brows slowly raising.

"Leo would eat anything that's edible. But he's not that keen on ketchucream."

"I would like to try it."

She handed him the small jar. Its contents looked depressingly like ice cream with strawberry jam.

Constantine took a spoon and dabbed some ketchucream onto his sandwich. Starlight had a feeling he was doing it just because Leo wouldn't. He took a bite and meticulously chewed through it.

"Why, it's delicious!" he exclaimed, utterly amazed.

"Do you really like it?" Starlight was dumbfounded.

"Yes! It makes this sandwich so much better! Here, have some." He pushed the jar toward her.

Starlight suppressed a chuckle and focused on her own snacks. Sandwiches were soon gone, followed by some cupcakes and fruit, and washed down by orange juice.

By the time they had finished with the food, the sun had set and the stars were bright again. Starlight looked up, feeling as if the darkening ground lost its power over her and now the stars were her guides.

"You know, every time I look at the stars, I want to be closer to them," she said pensively.

"No wonder," said the king softly. "You were the one to save them, after all." For the first time there was no bitter edge in his voice when he mentioned the fact. "I have an idea." He stood up and stretched out a hand to her. She took it and stood up, too.

Extremely curious, she followed as he led her to the tallest heap of stone cubes. It was about twice her height tall. Constantine pressed a button on his sleeve and Starlight was teleported to the top of the heap.

"Whoa!" she gasped.

Constantine emerged next to her. "Is the view to your heart's content, princess?" he asked.

"It certainly is."

She sat down, feet hanging in the air. It was like sitting on the top of a mountain.

Constantine accepted her silent invitation and settled himself next to her. She leaned toward him and he promptly wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Um, I could have used that sleeve as a pillow if it wasn't as hard as concrete," said Starlight, and he pulled her even closer, so that her head was leaning against his chest instead. "Yep, that's better," she lied, for now her spine was carrying all her weight. She knew she'd have to shift her pose again soon. "So how'd you like the picnic?"

"It exceeded my expectations," he said, and she felt his breath unintentionally brush her hairs just above her forehead. She turned her body and her head so that she was facing him now, his other arm supporting her shoulders. She was almost lying in his lap, hoping for a kiss. He took his time starring into her eyes, as if there was something particularly interesting about them, then gently touched her lips with his. She rather felt then saw that he was smiling now.

"What?" she asked, grinning.

"It's nothing, I just remembered the night we met."

"Oh, the one when you were instantly swept away by my charm?" she mocked.

"I'd rather say, annoyed beyond all merits with your persistence in breaking my rules."

Starlight chuckled. If love at the first sight existed… well, this wasn't it.

"And I was so annoyed by all your stupid rules," she said lightly. "But I don't remember ever being annoyed with you. Not much anyway."

This confession earned her another kiss. Constantine's forehead touched hers and he closed his eyes and stayed still just like that, as if he was speaking to her without words. She felt so cozy in his arms that she suspected she might fall asleep if she stayed like that a little longer.

"Constantine," she said hazily, trying to remember what she was thinking about before the conversation had turned to sweet nothings.

"Hm?" he replied without moving away or opening his eyes.

"There was something I wanted to ask you. Something very important."

He straightened his back, eyes alert, lips tight. She felt bad for breaking his moment of tranquility.

"I was just wondering… When I'm the, um, Minister of Environmental Affairs, will you allow me to be in charge of your zoo?"

"Why?" he asked, his voice somewhat dry. "Do you want to shut it down and set all the animals free?"

She shook her head with timid sadness. "I'm not a child, Constantine. I know that animals who were born there are hardly capable of surviving in the wild. I want to inspect the zoo and to make sure that all the animals are as happy as they could possibly be there. And if any of them suffer, I must see what I can do to help."

Constantine's brows shot up.

"These are the words of the true queen," he said in wonder, almost in awe. "Yes, you can do that, of course."

And at that moment Starlight felt Courage, Leadership, and Hope mingle in her heart, forming an infinite source of energy, akin to the Heart of the Galaxy. Her choice was right. There was no more doubt about that.

"Thanks," she breathed with a smile. There was nothing she wanted more than to kiss him again, to lock her lips with his and let that energy float through her into his veins.

But just as she was about to lift herself up closer, she noticed that his face now wore a very somber expression.

"There was something I wanted to ask you, too," he said. "Something very important."

"What?" She pulled away and sat up, anticipating something very grave.

"Yes, you'd better listen carefully, I am not going to ask twice," he nodded. And only after he made sure he had her full fearful attention, he said, "The question is: why did you bring the guitar?"

She froze stunned for a moment, then broke into fits of laughter.

When she was finally capable of speaking, she said, "The guitar! I completely forgot about it! Well, I had something. For you." She remembered that she'd left the guitar on the bench, along with the picnic basket. "I'll be right back!"

She climbed to her feet just as Constantine pushed a few buttons on his control panel, and the guitar case appeared out of thin air next to him.

"You don't even need to leave," he said, his eyes half-closed, his expression smug.

"Oh, sweet." She took the guitar out of its case and sat back next to him. "By the way, that was a joke. A genuine joke! If I told somebody, they'd never believe me!"

"If you tell anybody, I'll deny everything. So nobody will believe you indeed," affirmed the king.

"Anyway, I have this song for you," she said, already softly plucking the strings. "It's very short yet. I hope it'll get longer over time."

Constantine watched her and listened intently. The tune was very familiar but the words were different. Her gaze was firmly on him as she sang:

We can be anything we dream
Think it up and make it real
And light up the whole world
We're shining so bright
Anything is possible
When I look into your eyes
Oh, oh, oh, we are shooting stars

Her fingers ran across the row of strings for one last time and the music dissolved into the air.

"I like it," Constantine said simply. He didn't know how else he could convey his emotions, they were too complicated and intangible. "I do hope you write more."

"We write," she amended, putting the guitar aside and moving closer.

"Well, if you do need my artistic talents," he said making sure she was comfortably lying in his lap again, "I can contribute by pointing out that technically shooting stars are meteors burning up on entering a planet's atmosphere, so there is nothing particularly fascinating about being one."

She laughed, dismissively. "What I do need now is another kiss, if that's not too much to ask for."

"This I can provide," he nodded, leaning closer, then stopping inches from her lips, fazed by the gleam in her eyes. "Just remember we have yet to announce our engagement."

"I assure you, everybody knows by now. I even heard the sprites gossiping about it in the hall."

"What?!" He recoiled in surprise. "How is that possible?"

"Do you want to get angry or do you want to kiss me?" she asked.

It was a difficult dilemma, but upon some consideration, brow-knitting, and eye-rolling Constantine chose the latter, and was rewarded by the warm touch of her lips. He still couldn't believe he now could kiss those lips for as long as he wished. There was no hurry. He gently studied their every curve and nook, feeling her light breath on his skin, and finally looking up into her eyes. Their azure depth tugged at his heart, as if there was another universe within them, one holding miracles beyond his imagination, holding him spellbound. And he knew all the riches of his world couldn't compare to the treasure he held in his arms now.

The feeling left him fearful and he closed his eyes again to turn his attention to her lips instead. She didn't mind. After a long minute he pulled away, preserving his ability to think about anything at all.

"It's getting late," he said. "We have to get back soon."

She was still tracing his sharp cheekbones with her fingers. "Hate to admit it, but you're right."

Constantine hated being right at that moment, but their sweet evening was coming to its end and they had to part.

"Let's go, then."

They reluctantly broke their embrace and got to their feet. Starlight carefully placed her guitar back into the case. Before they started back, Constantine cast one last look at the city.

"By stars, what it that monstrosity on top of the Trading Center?!"

Author's note:

THE END! And they lived happily ever after, which in their case probably meant lots of misunderstandings and drama, but they always found their way back to each other's hearts. Just like any loving couple should, really. Oh, and maybe Constantine modified Starlight's locket a bit so that new songs could be added to it, and they could add their song and pass the locket on to their children and so on.

The reason this chapter exists isn't just all the hugging and kissing. Starlight needed to know that her choice was right – after all, I had her rush into a marriage with a man she hardly knows, and that only works well in Disney movies! (Frozen excluded.) So the moment Constantine agrees to let her change things in his kingdom is the moment of truth, showing her that he really respects her and is willing to work together rather than just tell her what to do. And I do believe that Constantine could change for the better, first and foremost because he was never a heartless villain – remember the first gala in the movie, he was enjoying music just as much as Starlight would have (if it was her kind of music), he just surrounded himself with formality and rules (remember the droid reminding him not to get carried away by the music? I still laugh every time I see it! :D)). THIS is the very reason I ship them so much! I wouldn't ship Starlight with an abusive jerk who only changed his mind about her when she proved to have more power over stars than he did.

And if you take a closer look, you'll notice that although the word "love" is present in the story, they never actually say "I love you". This is because in fiction those three words tend to reduce any conflicts in a very silly and unbelievable way. Like, "We're so different, how can we ever be together without eventually killing each other in frustration?" "But I love you!" "Oh, that makes it OK, then." So I tried to covey the I-love-yous by other means.

I hope you enjoyed the journey! It would melt my heart and turn it into pink soap bubbles if you dropped a line in the reviews telling me if you liked it all (or hated it!:))).

So far I don't plan to write anything else with this pairing, even though I do have tons of little plots in my mind, I just don't like to stray away from canon with my stories. [But if you must know, I imagine lots of adventures for these two. Like, Constantine inventing a very enthusiastic A.I. to help him rule Oppa-Irri, something along the lines of Vicky from the I, Robot movie (or Glados from Portal 2!), and Starlight with her friends having to sort all the mess it causes. Then, I would definitely wreck Constantine's nerves by letting Starlight travel to some distant planet with no decent means of communication, so that it would leave him believing she was killed there. Then, after she's safely back, I'd add up more drama with his unwillingness to ever let her go away again, and Starlight would offer him to go on a trip with her – just for him to make sure there's absolutely nothing to worry about. And they would end up on some godforsaken planet where they would have to run and fight for their lives (Afterearth movie, anyone?:D))]

So you see, THAT is why I shouldn't write anything else about them!:D

That said, I'd love to read your Constarlight fics, and if you need a beta reader, a co-writer, or simply a reader to tell you how wonderful you story is, don't hesitate to contact me!

For now I'll just continue drawing fluffy pictures with them, and those can be found in my DeviantArt gallery: katarina-mor.

Thanks again for being here with me, I love you all, and may the magic of the stars always light up your path! :)