Chapter Text
The date wasn't until that evening, but Andromeda started helping Astro get ready hours beforehand.
Partially because she wanted everything to go smoothly.
Mostly because she knew her son.
Astro had spent the last thirty minutes staring at his suitcase.
Not packing.
Just staring.
Thinking.
Worrying.
Thinking some more.
Which was how Andromeda found him sitting cross-legged on the floor with three different shirts beside him and an expression of complete despair.
"How bad is it?"
Astro looked up.
"I've changed my mind."
"About the date?"
"About existing."
Andromeda laughed.
"That bad, huh?"
Astro groaned and flopped backward onto the bed.
The ceiling offered no solutions.
As usual.
"I don't know what to wear."
"That's the problem?"
"No."
"Then what's the problem?"
Astro hesitated.
Immediately, Andromeda's smile softened.
Because she knew that hesitation.
She'd seen it before.
Many times.
"I'm just nervous."
"About Sprout?"
"Sort of."
"Sort of?"
Astro rolled onto his side.
The ocean was visible through the window behind him.
Waves glittered beneath the afternoon sun.
Normally the view would've calmed him down.
Today it wasn't helping.
"What if he sees me differently?"
The words came out quietly.
So quietly Andromeda almost missed them.
"What do you mean?"
Astro picked at a loose thread on the blanket.
"When I first came out, a lot of people acted weird."
The room grew quieter.
"I know."
"Some people treated me like I was broken."
His voice remained calm.
Matter-of-fact.
Like he was discussing the weather.
But Andromeda could hear the hurt underneath.
"The kids at my old school kept asking questions."
Questions he hadn't wanted to answer.
Questions he shouldn't have had to answer.
Questions that made him feel like he was being examined instead of understood.
"I remember."
Astro stared down at his hands.
"I'm scared."
Andromeda's heart squeezed.
Because despite how mature he could seem, despite how much responsibility he carried, despite everything—
He was still a kid.
A kid going on a date.
A kid who wanted to be liked.
A kid who'd been hurt before.
"What are you scared of?"
Astro was quiet for a moment.
Then—
"What if one day he decides I'm too complicated?"
The honesty hit like a punch.
Andromeda moved to sit beside him on the bed.
For a few seconds neither spoke.
The only sound came from the distant waves outside.
Then she gently nudged his shoulder.
"Astro."
He looked up.
"When you told me you were a boy, do you remember what I said?"
A tiny smile appeared.
"You cried."
"I did cry."
"You cried a lot."
"It was emotional."
Astro laughed.
A little.
Andromeda smiled too.
Then she continued.
"After I stopped crying."
"You mean after the ugly crying."
"Thank you for that."
"You're welcome."
"What did I say?"
Astro thought for a moment.
Then his expression softened.
"You said I was still me."
"Exactly."
Andromeda reached over and brushed a strand of hair from his face.
"You've always been you."
The same kid who collected cool rocks.
The same kid who carried injured bugs outside instead of squishing them.
The same kid who stayed up all night when Stellar was sick.
The same kid who worried too much.
The same kid who loved astronomy.
The same kid who gave everyone else pieces of himself before saving any for himself.
"Being transgender doesn't make you complicated."
Astro listened quietly.
"It just means you're Astro."
For a moment his eyes looked suspiciously shiny.
He immediately looked away.
Which only confirmed it.
Andromeda pretended not to notice.
A mother's privilege.
"If Sprout cares about you—and from what I've seen, he does—then he cares about all of you."
Astro swallowed.
"What if you're wrong?"
Andromeda smiled.
Then she pointed toward the window.
Across the street, barely visible from the cottage, Sprout was walking along the beach carrying an armful of towels for his family.
A few moments later Gourdy tripped over absolutely nothing.
Sprout caught him before he could faceplant into the sand.
Then Bassie threw a beach ball at his head.
Then Cocoa laughed.
Then everyone started yelling.
Normal Seedly family behavior.
Andromeda pointed.
"That boy spent an entire month miserable because he thought you hated him."
Astro snorted.
"Fair."
"I think you'll be okay."
For a while neither spoke.
Then Astro looked down at the clothes scattered across the room.
"Okay."
"Okay?"
"Okay."
Andromeda stood.
"Good."
Then she grabbed the blue button-up shirt he'd rejected earlier.
"This one."
Astro blinked.
"That's it?"
"That's it."
"What if—"
"This one."
"What if—"
"This one."
"Mom."
"Astro."
A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
And for the first time that day, the nervousness didn't feel quite so overwhelming.
Because maybe Andromeda was right.
Maybe he didn't need to be anyone except himself.
And maybe that would be enough.
That evening, Astro was convinced he looked normal.
Andromeda disagreed.
Stellar disagreed.
Even Orion seemed to disagree.
"You've checked your hair six times."
Astro looked away from the mirror.
"Five."
"It was six."
"It was five."
"It was six."
Astro grabbed his jacket.
"I'm leaving."
"Have fun on your date!"
"STELLAR."
The eight-year-old cackled as he escaped the cottage.
Starsand Shoal looked beautiful after sunset.
String lights glowed along the boardwalk. Music drifted from nearby shops. The ocean breeze carried the scent of saltwater and food from the restaurants.
Starbay sat at the end of the pier.
It was one of the nicest restaurants in town.
Blue lanterns hung from the ceiling. The walls were decorated with nautical maps and paintings of constellations. Large windows overlooked the water.
Astro arrived first.
Unfortunately.
Because that meant he had time to be nervous.
A lot of time.
He was busy pretending not to be nervous when the restaurant door opened.
And Sprout walked in.
Astro almost laughed.
Because Sprout immediately froze.
Completely.
Utterly.
Froze.
The poor guy looked like someone had unplugged his brain.
Astro had chosen a dark navy outfit that matched the night sky outside. Tiny silver stars were embroidered along the cuffs and collar. Nothing overly fancy.
Just enough to make him feel confident.
Apparently it was enough to destroy Sprout's ability to function.
For several seconds he simply stared.
"Sprout?"
Nothing.
"Sprout."
Still nothing.
A waitress walked past.
Sprout didn't notice.
A family sat down nearby.
Sprout didn't notice.
The world could've ended.
Sprout probably wouldn't have noticed.
Finally Astro snapped his fingers.
The boy blinked.
"Oh."
"Hello to you too."
Sprout immediately turned red.
"I had a sentence."
"Did you?"
"It was a really good sentence."
"What happened to it?"
"You happened to it."
Astro laughed.
Actually laughed.
The kind of laugh that made his eyes crinkle.
Unfortunately.
That made things worse.
Sprout looked away.
"Wow."
"What?"
"You look really nice."
The sincerity caught Astro off guard.
For a moment he forgot to answer.
Then he smiled.
A little shyly.
"Thanks."
The tips of Sprout's ears turned red.
They were seated near one of the windows overlooking the ocean.
For a while the conversation felt awkward.
Not bad.
Just nervous.
Like both of them were trying very hard not to say something stupid.
Eventually Astro pointed out a boat drifting across the moonlit water.
Sprout started talking about a disaster involving Bassie, a greenhouse, and seventeen tomato plants.
Astro laughed so hard he nearly spilled his drink.
After that, everything became easier.
They talked about school.
About summer.
About Stellar.
About Gourdy.
About Shelly's obsession with fossils.
About literally everything.
At one point Astro glanced out the window.
The moon reflected across the water.
Stars glittered overhead.
The entire bay looked silver.
"It's pretty."
Sprout wasn't looking at the water.
He was looking at Astro.
The realization made both of them freeze.
"..."
"..."
Sprout immediately looked away.
Astro immediately looked away.
Both boys suddenly found the menu extremely interesting.
Neither acknowledged what had happened.
The waitress arrived just in time to save them.
By the time dinner ended, the restaurant had begun to empty.
The boardwalk outside glowed beneath strings of lights.
The ocean stretched endlessly into the darkness.
As they stepped outside, Astro found himself smiling again.
Not because of the food.
Not because of the restaurant.
Because he'd had fun.
Real fun.
And judging by the grin on Sprout's face—
So had he.
Neither said it.
Neither needed to.
The walk back to their cottages felt shorter than it should have.
And somewhere behind them, Starbay's lights shimmered against the water like tiny stars.
Later that night, Sprout made a terrible mistake.
A truly awful, life-altering mistake.
He told Bassie about the date.
At first, it seemed harmless.
The family had returned to their beach cottage. Mrs. Seedly had gone to bed, Gourdy was asleep on the couch clutching a stuffed pumpkin, and Cocoa had finally stopped talking about seashells long enough to brush her teeth.
Bassie was sitting on the porch, working on a kandi bracelet beneath the glow of a lantern.
Sprout should have kept walking.
Instead, he sat down beside her.
Bassie immediately narrowed her eyes.
"What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything."
"That's not an answer."
Sprout sighed.
Unfortunately, his sigh sounded suspiciously happy.
Bassie lowered her bracelet.
"Oh no."
"What?"
"You look happy."
"That's rude."
"It's accurate."
Sprout leaned back in his chair.
For approximately three seconds, he managed to stay quiet.
Then—
"The date went well."
Bassie immediately dropped her beads.
"YOU WENT ON THE DATE?"
"Keep your voice down!"
"No."
Gourdy stirred on the couch.
Both siblings froze.
After a tense moment, the younger boy rolled over and continued sleeping.
Bassie turned back toward Sprout.
Slowly.
Menacingly.
"You actually did it."
"I actually did it."
"Oh my gosh."
"Please stop saying that."
"No."
She pointed at him.
"You've liked him for months."
Sprout nearly choked.
"No I haven't."
Bassie stared.
Just stared.
The way one might stare at a man who had just claimed the moon was made of cheese.
"Sprout."
"What?"
"You spent an entire month walking around looking like a kicked puppy because you thought Astro hated you."
"I did not."
"You absolutely did."
"I was normal."
"You burned six batches of cookies."
"That was unrelated."
"You wrote 'Astro' instead of 'apricot' on a supply order."
Sprout buried his face in his hands.
Bassie wasn't finished.
Not even close.
"You stared at him during lunch."
"Okay, that's enough."
"You volunteered at the hospital and somehow found reasons to mention him every day."
"I hate this conversation."
"You literally asked me if blue flowers would look nice because they're his favorite color."
"STOP."
Bassie laughed so hard she nearly fell out of her chair.
Sprout considered throwing her into the ocean.
Unfortunately, that was frowned upon.
After a few minutes she finally calmed down enough to breathe.
"So."
"No."
"So."
"No."
"What happened?"
Sprout groaned.
Then, despite himself, he smiled.
A tiny one.
The kind that immediately gave him away.
Bassie's eyes widened.
"Oh my gosh."
"What now?"
"You REALLY like him."
Sprout looked toward the beach.
The moonlight shimmered across the water.
Somewhere farther down the shore, the Novalite cottage glowed softly against the darkness.
A certain constellation-loving boy was probably there.
Maybe talking with Stellar.
Maybe reading.
Maybe asleep.
The thought made Sprout smile again.
And Bassie caught it immediately.
"Oh, you've got it BAD."
"I hate you."
"No you don't."
"Maybe a little."
Bassie snorted and went back to her kandi bracelet.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then she glanced at him from the corner of her eye.
"You know..."
Sprout immediately became suspicious.
"What?"
"I'm happy for you."
The teasing disappeared from her voice.
Just for a second.
Long enough to be genuine.
Long enough to surprise him.
Sprout smiled.
A real one this time.
"Thanks."
Bassie nodded and returned to her beads.
But as she worked, her smile slowly faded.
Because she was happy for her brother.
Truly.
Yet somewhere deep inside her chest sat a feeling she couldn't quite ignore.
A feeling that appeared whenever Cocoa smiled at her.
Whenever Cocoa grabbed her hand.
Whenever Cocoa looked at her the way Sprout looked at Astro.
Bassie stared down at the unfinished bracelet in her lap.
Then quietly returned to threading the beads.
Sprout didn't notice.
He was too busy thinking about Astro.
And Bassie wasn't sure whether that made things better or worse.
The next morning began with Stellar kicking Astro awake.
Not gently.
Not politely.
With the full force of an excited eight-year-old who had discovered something important.
"ASTRO."
Astro groaned into his pillow.
"No."
"ASTRO."
"No."
"ASTRO."
"What?"
"We need to go to the beach."
It was seven in the morning.
Seven.
In the morning.
"Why?"
"Because."
Astro immediately knew that was a bad sign.
Twenty minutes later, he found himself walking along the shoreline with a bucket, a towel, and a very determined Stellar.
The beach was mostly empty.
The tide had gone out.
Seagulls wandered through the wet sand looking for breakfast.
Everything was peaceful.
For approximately thirty seconds.
Then Stellar froze.
"Astro."
"What?"
"Astro."
The tone of her voice made him look up.
Immediately.
"Oh no."
A tiny shark lay in the shallows.
Not very big.
Maybe two feet long.
Gray.
Wriggling weakly.
It had become stranded by the retreating tide.
Stellar's eyes widened.
"IT'S A BABY."
"It is."
"WE HAVE TO HELP IT."
"We are helping it."
The shark flopped.
Both siblings panicked.
"Okay, definitely helping it."
Astro carefully approached.
Remembering every documentary he'd ever watched.
Which wasn't many.
But it was enough.
Together they worked surprisingly well.
Astro used the towel to gently support the shark.
Stellar fetched water from the ocean.
Again.
And again.
And again.
The entire operation felt very official.
Eventually a nearby marine rescue volunteer spotted them and hurried over.
"Oh!"
The woman smiled.
"Thank you two."
Stellar stood taller.
"We found him."
"Looks like you saved him."
The little girl's grin could've powered a city.
A few minutes later the volunteer carefully helped guide the nurse shark back into deeper water.
The shark disappeared beneath the waves.
Stellar waved dramatically.
"GOODBYE SHARK."
The volunteer laughed.
"Good job, shark rescuers."
Stellar looked ready to explode from happiness.
By the time they returned to the main beach area, she had already named the shark.
Three times.
His final name was apparently Sir Finnegan.
Astro wasn't sure why.
Meanwhile, disaster was occurring elsewhere.
Specifically—
At the Seedly family umbrella.
Gourdy had a shovel.
This was already concerning.
Cosmo noticed first.
"Where's Sprout?"
Silence.
Mrs. Seedly looked around.
"No idea."
Bassie pointed toward a suspiciously large mound of sand.
"...there."
Everyone turned.
The sand mound moved.
Then a muffled voice emerged.
"I'M GOING TO THROW HIM INTO THE OCEAN."
Gourdy immediately started laughing.
Turns out the younger boy had convinced Sprout to help build a "fort."
Then upgraded the fort into a "castle."
Then upgraded the castle into a "burial site."
Sprout was now trapped up to his neck.
Only his head remained visible.
"Help."
"No."
Bassie was recording.
"HELP."
"You'll live."
"BAASSIIEEE."
"Say hi to my camera."
Sprout looked deeply offended.
At that exact moment, Astro and Stellar arrived.
Stellar stopped walking.
"..."
"..."
"Why is he in the sand?"
Nobody answered.
Because honestly—
Nobody knew.
Sprout spotted Astro.
Immediately.
"HELP ME."
Astro laughed.
Actually laughed.
The kind of laugh that made him double over slightly.
Sprout looked betrayed.
"You too?"
"Sorry."
"You are not sorry."
"No."
"I KNEW IT."
Gourdy proudly held up his shovel.
"I built him."
Mrs. Seedly nearly fell out of her chair laughing.
Bassie was crying.
Cosmo had completely given up.
And for the second time that day, Stellar looked absolutely delighted.
This vacation was shaping up to be one of the weirdest summers any of them had ever experienced.
Honestly?
Nobody minded.
Later that afternoon, Sprout came to a horrifying realization.
He was doomed.
Absolutely doomed.
Because every time he thought he couldn't possibly like Astro any more than he already did, Astro would go and do something ridiculous.
Like rescue a shark.
Who rescues a shark?
Apparently Astro.
And somehow that wasn't even the weirdest part.
The weirdest part was watching him with Stellar.
Sprout sat beneath the umbrella while Bassie worked on a kandi bracelet nearby. Across the beach, Astro and Stellar were building a sandcastle.
Well.
Stellar was building a sandcastle.
Astro was being ordered around.
There was a difference.
"More shells."
Astro handed her shells.
"No, the pretty ones."
Astro sighed and found prettier shells.
"The castle needs a moat."
Astro dug a moat.
"The moat needs another moat."
"What?"
"Another moat."
"That's not how moats work."
"It is now."
Sprout found himself smiling.
Again.
It was becoming a problem.
A serious one.
Across the sand, Stellar accidentally knocked over part of the castle.
The eight-year-old immediately looked devastated.
Before she could start panicking, Astro crouched beside her.
"It's okay."
"But it broke."
"We can fix it."
"It won't be the same."
"Then we'll make it better."
Within minutes the two were rebuilding.
Stellar smiled again.
Sprout's heart did something deeply embarrassing.
Bassie looked up from her bracelet.
"Oh no."
"What?"
"The look is back."
"What look?"
"The one where you stare at Astro like he's the eighth wonder of the world."
Sprout nearly inhaled sand.
"I do not."
"You absolutely do."
Bassie pointed.
"You're doing it right now."
He immediately looked away.
Unfortunately that only made Bassie laugh harder.
"You're hopeless."
"I hate you."
"No you don't."
She wasn't wrong.
A little later, Astro wandered over carrying two cold lemonades.
He handed one to Sprout before sitting beside him.
The gesture was small.
Simple.
Normal.
Yet Sprout felt like he'd been hit by a truck.
"Thanks."
"No problem."
For a few minutes they sat quietly watching the waves.
Then Stellar came sprinting toward them.
Fast.
Very fast.
The kind of speed that suggested trouble.
"ASTRO."
"What happened?"
"I found a crab."
"Okay?"
"It stole my shell."
Astro blinked.
Sprout blinked.
Stellar looked completely serious.
"The crab stole your shell."
"Yes."
"Like... on purpose?"
"YES."
Without missing a beat, Astro stood.
"Show me the criminal."
Stellar immediately grabbed his hand and brought him to it.
Low and behold, a crab.
A very angry looking crab.
”His name is grump.”
”That checks out.”