(Art by LochandLoaded)

The stars were brighter out there, right on the edge of the Iris Colony’s dome. No wonder it was a popular vacation spot, despite the distance from the colony proper. There were cabins dotted here and there, each surrounded by imported nature in an attempt to make Ceres look a little less bleak. Sage thought it was oddly hilarious, himself. Oh, how human it was to travel halfway across the solar system just to make it look more like Earth!

Sage didn’t mind it so much. He rather liked the knee-high grass brushing against his legs. The row of pine trees put up to hide the edge of the dome. A fake, warm summer wind brushing over his exposed synthetic skin. The calls of wild animals who had no idea they were no longer on Earth. But most of all, he liked the sight of Ciro fiddling with the telescope he bought for their vacation. Because looking up at the star-studded sky wasn’t enough for either of them. They had to look at them closer.

“Right,” Ciro said, bent over the telescope. He had been adjusting it for almost an hour. Sage didn’t mind as it did allow him a rather lovely view. “Okay, it’s ready!”

Sage walked over, his simple white dress brushing against the tall grass with a faint swish as he went. “Found a dot you like the most?”

“You could say that.” Ciro stood up and took a step back, dramatically outstretching his arms as he did. “Take a look.”

Sage instead chose to look at what he considered far more beautiful than something as simple as a star.

Ciro had changed so much since his first day at the colony. Sure, his fashion sense never got past jeans and geek shirts, but he had grown softer around the edges. His curly hair was longer now, long enough to put in a ponytail, and peppered with more gray than before. He also smiled more now. Natural, warm smiles that occurred far more often than his bad days. Ciro was more beautiful now than ever, and Sage knew he’d only get more beautiful with time.

Sage must have spent too long admiring the view because Ciro cleared his throat and pointed at the telescope.

“If you insist.” Sage bent over, looked into the eyepiece, and was unable to stifle a gasp. There, hanging improbably in the night sky, was Earth. Logically Sage knew it would be there, of course. But to see the blue and green blob in all of its glory was another thing entirely. He’d seen so many photos of it, naturally, but there was something special about it pinned against the dark void above them. Not that Sage was going to admit it. No, he had to tease his partner, first.

“I don’t know,” Sage said, unable to hide his smile. “I think Saturn was way more impressive. Earth is direly lacking majestic rings.”

“Not every planet needs rings,” Ciro said. Sage couldn’t see his face, but he knew he was smiling as well.

“You said that, and I still disagree. Every planet needs rings, poisonous clouds, and at least three moons.” 

“Maybe you’d like the Earth more if you saw it for yourself?”

That got Sage to look up from the telescope. “What?”

Ciro responded by sticking his hands in his jeans pockets and then immediately looked anywhere else that wasn’t Sage. He was nervous. When was the last time he was nervous around him? “I uh, I’ve been talking with Ilex. He’s willing to take over your more essential duties if you ever want to travel off-Ceres. And I thought Earth might be a good place to start.”

Sage took a small step away from the telescope and towards his partner. Earth. Going to Earth. Going off-Ceres, period. The idea made his systems whirl to life. He’d always wondered, but he never allowed himself to indulge in the fantasy of it. “It’d be kind of dangerous for me, wouldn’t it? Me, an Alphabot, wandering around Earth?”

Ciro shrugged, still looking away. “Ox got away with it for years. A face mask, sunglasses, makeup to cover the rest of your face… I think we could manage it for a short trip.”

Sage looked up at the starry sky in the vague direction of Earth. He could feel his inner fans spinning faster with a gentle vibration. Ciro had to be able to hear them from where he stood.  “A short trip? I don’t know if I can do a short trip, Ciro.”

Ciro finally looked Sage’s way and frowned. “You don’t?”

“Of course I don’t!” Sage reached out and pulled Ciro’s hand out from his pocket, just so he could hold it. “I want to see it all! I want to see the oceans, the mountains, deserts, and plains and, and I want to see all the different cities and cultures across the entire globe! And the animals! So many different animals! Most of them I could even pet! Even the ones I’m not supposed to! There’s so much I want to see and do; my heart can’t even take it!”

“You don’t have a heart, Sage.”

“I don’t need one. I have you.”

Ciro snuck an arm around Sage and gave him a kiss as soft and sweet as their first. Sage had hoped for a following up kiss more inline with the kisses that followed said first kiss, but he was tragically denied. Instead Ciro pulled away just enough to gaze down into Sage’s eyes. “You know, a trip like that would make a hell of a honeymoon.”

Sage cocked his head. “I guess?”

Ciro didn’t respond to Sage. Instead he grinned and walked back into their cabin, whistling as he went. Leaving Sage outside with the universe above and his beloved colony below. Ciro had been acting odd their entire vacation. Almost as if he was up to something. 

Sage closed his eyes, soaking in the feel of the false summer wind and the night wrapped around him. He was at peace there, between the two worlds, between his future and his duty. As long as he had Ciro at his side, he could face anything.

Sage turned back to the telescope to see Earth again. But he stopped, pausing to replay Ciro’s words in his head.

…a hell of a honeymoon…

“Wait. Wait! Ciro, Ciro did you just propose to me? Ciro? Ciro!”