The Phenomena of Fireflies and Star... - Chapter 21: Chapter 21

Ames spent the next two weeks juggling between holding the last two weeks of class for the semester and data gathering. He initially had a lot of time in his hands because of how quickly he had contacted participants. He wanted to collect data from a wide variety of respondents. After all, he was trying to promote an educational program. He was glad that he had spent time in his career networking and being socially active. In addition to that, the support that came from his co-teachers helped spread the word about The Mastermind. Ames spent the first week focused on gathering data from students and faculty members from across the academic levels and from many different schools. Having created a webpage that allowed free access to the first three levels of all the academic courses in The Mastermind, getting a large number of respondents was easy.
The second week needed more things done. Ames wanted to gather data from people from all walks of life. He needed to tap more connections and wait more patiently. He was able to gather data through connections in the business process outsourcing, banking, and media industries, as well as through his connections in the law enforcement. It took Ames longer in getting the numbers rolling in, and the results were much more varied.
The latter part of the second week saw Ames reaching out to his neighbors to gather data. With the help of some friends in the local government, he was also able to gather data from many of the lower income residents in a neighboring town.
Ames had never had to multitask so many important things at once, but the online nature of his data gathering and the connections he had made throughout the years definitely helped in simplifying things for him. He didn't even need to spend a lot of money. Time, however, he eventually did.
The same was true for his energy and his health. The two weeks of data gathering mixed with holding classes were both busy, but the second week saw Ames parking his car at the most unexpected places to get a few hours of sleep. He wasn't even analyzing data yet. He would get there eventually, and that would be another battle he would have to soldier through.
The two weeks of data gathering were good distractions. Ames still had questions lumping up like mold at the back of his mind, and there were times when he almost considered cutting his journey short because of how it could turn out differently than he imagined. Dr. Masuda did help, and her efforts were very much appreciated, but the more that Ames put his work out there, the more he realized that his supervisor was right. What he was offering was something big, and it was about as welcome a change as it was a disruption to the complex web of society's systemic makeup.
Max had been incredibly supportive, making sure that Ames wasn't skidding off solid ground whenever the pressure got a little too real. Whenever Ames needed a grip on something solid and stable, Max was there at the ready. Whenever Ames needed to speak about the ups and the downs that he encountered, Max was there to listen and to give advice. Whenever Ames was at a shortage of breath because of the many personal deadlines he had set, Max would be there to take him to the Falco Bayside where the wind was cool and where they would devour their takeout orders from The Crunchy Fowl for a quick refuel.
Whenever Ames was burdened by his use of his own fire to convert the negativity inside him into action and initiative, Max would take him back to their little Ames and Max Only dimension, which sounded as silly as it was a really good place to retreat to. There were always fireflies and starlight to keep them company and to lift them up. There was something constant and pure in there that Max had built for just the two of them, and it hadn't failed to cut straight through the currents that threw Ames left and right.
So many things took place. So many changes simultaneously promised and threatened a different tomorrow. What remained was Max.
He was always there, just like he'd always been after crash-landing on Ames's life.
With his sincerity, his patience, and his care.
With his heart and his light.
October 22, 2023
The Sunday after the Two-Week Data Gathering
"Blackbird Peak"
5:45 AM
The mouth to Blackbird Peak had since been closed off with a barbed metal fence. The urban legends that plagued the mountain made a lot of sense, considering its history. Ames wasn't keen on the truth about the place. At least, not the whole truth. The place had been a mystery for such a long time. Most of the information Ames had gathered about the place had been urban legends.
He approached the fence, looking at the rocky path up ahead. The sun had just started rising, and the path that stretched out before him had an eerie glow to it. The thick blankets of trees that sandwiched the path on both sides made the place look darker than it should. Far away, up the mountain that rose from where he stood, was the apex of Blackbird Peak. From where Ames was standing, the entire route ahead appeared to have a gradual rise until halfway through, from where the ascent seemed to be steeper.
Ames had dressed up appropriately for the hike: a gray racerback tank top underneath a maroon Henley shirt, a black military-style jacket, a pair of black hiking pants, and a pair of black hiking shoes. His hands felt the straps of his large camping bag.
Ames heard the car door close behind him.
"You know, it's a good thing that I'm used to your surprises," Ames remarked, looking back at Max. "It's not every day somebody takes you to a camping trip in arguably the most haunted place in North Neo-Manila."
Max looked back at him with a bit of an apologetic expression. The man also looked ready for hiking. He looked good, too. His gray muscle shirt, tucked into a pair of brown hiking pants, made the look work so well for him. How Max was looking like a soldier felt very appropriate, regardless of his real involvement in the Second World War. He would've made a very popular soldier with his good looks. Max had purchased black hiking shoes that fit his rather sizable feet. He also wore the new olive cargo jacket that Ames had given him, and he looked so good in it, too. Max put on his own camping bag, buckling the straps across his chest.
"I could easily manifest a rainbow, if you want," Max replied with fake smugness, locking the car with the key as he approached. "Make it colorful. Just so you won't be scared or anything."
"I was goth once, Max," Ames replied, looking toward the blocked path ahead again. "I dig this aesthetic."
"You're really the daring type, huh?"
"You wanna' find out?"
"Oh, well," Max said. Ames allowed Max to grab him. "Welcome to Blackbird Peak, then."
Thanks to the convenience of levitation, they made it to the other side. Their boots barely made noise when they reached the ground.
"Are we sure nobody's here?" Ames asked.
"I am," Max replied, casually putting his arm around Ames's shoulder. "We won't be disturbed here. Sound good?"
Ames covered his chuckles with a free hand, not understanding even after all this time how Max could make normal sentences sound so awkward.
"What?" Max demanded.
"Nothing," Ames said, pursing his lips as he shook his head. "Let's go, cowboy. Before you say anything else funny."
6:30 AM
The hike up the trail had been a breeze, but the journey hadn't even reached the midpoint of the route yet. They were still walking up the rocky path, and the rays of sunlight that poured through the thick collection of tall trees were faint and cast a slightly ghastly effect.
Ames held on to Max's wrist with his hand, securing the man's arm around his shoulder.
"I'm glad you've finally trusted me with driving," Max said. They kept their voices low, which was a common superstitious gesture of respect to avoid disturbing spirits in abandoned places. "Saved you the trouble, right?"
"Knowledge isn't the problem," Ames replied. "It's the documentation. We can't exactly get you a license."
"Makes me wish my life has been different right from the start, but here we are," Max said, a sigh trailing his words. He sounded too disappointed, but Ames knew where that was coming from.
"But here we are," Ames repeated, giving him a reassuring look. For Ames, they'd been pretty successful so far. Things hadn't gotten any easier, but they had grown stronger together against the things that had threatened their progress. That was the more important part, and that was good.
Max looked down at him, realizing the point he was making. It didn't take long for a smile to form on Max's face.
"But here we are," Max echoed, pulling Ames a tiny bit closer.
They walked onward, assisting each other over some irregular erosions that could've slightly impeded vehicular transportation. Motorcycles probably wouldn't have much of a problem on such a path. Whatever had happened to the place must've been quite huge to result in these inconveniences.
"Interesting choice of trail, by the way," Ames commented. "Honestly. I'm loving the vibes."
"So much history in this place," Max replied. There was a strangely nostalgic tone in his voice, but it was faint. It was very faint. Even the slight gloss of nostalgia in his eyes faded after he blinked. "Let's go?"
"Lead the way."
6:45 AM
They walked through the bamboo archway, which had seen better days, and into a wide space that contained what had probably been homes. They were mere debris now, cemented structures that had been blown up by something. There were random roofing materials and other stuff scattered on the ground, too. The air had a particularly earthy smell. Ames couldn't dissect what he was detecting, but the place smelled earthy. In alternately good and bad ways.
It seemed incredibly quiet. In fact, it felt as if the place could be hiding a mass grave.
Ames gently slipped away from Max's arm, captivated by the grim sight.
"Don't stray too far, Ames," Max said.
"No worries," Ames replied, patting Max's shoulder reassuringly.
The place was basically a ghost town, hidden away and locked off.
Ames remembered the path leading to the mouth of Blackbird Peak. Max had needed to go off-road from an off-road path. The path forward cut through an abandoned field. There were no homes, no people, and no animals. The next path they had taken was a rocky road hidden by trees. It was as if Blackbird Peak was never supposed to be accessed.
'Fascinating,' Ames took out his phone and began collecting pictures. He walked around for a while, hopping over some debris and broken items sticking out from the soil, his attention floating from one shattered building to another. There were aged wooden sculptures, too. Ames guessed that they had likely been stalls or tables. He didn't know for sure.
"This place is very abandoned, Max," Ames commented, walking around the remains of what had probably been a house. There were furniture, chinaware, and home accessories in places they normally wouldn't be in, and they were either cracked or rusted or just broken up and aged by time. The upper wall and the roof of the house had been blasted off. "Let's hope it stays that way."
"Reminds you of those undead films, huh?" Max asked. He stood by the doorway of another scalped house. "Very apocalyptic."
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you took me here to kill me," Ames added.
"You know I'd never do that to you."
"I know. Am I lucky or what?"
Ames took even more photos before walking back to Max. He really had to groom Max up on how and where to take people out on trips and dates, friendly or romantic. The man was lucky that Ames actually had a fascination for the dark and the macabre. If Ames had been anybody else, his opinions on the place would've been different.
"You come here often?" Ames asked, moving right into Max's arm again. He held the phone in front of him, scrolling through the photos and showing them off to Max. "This looks like some sort of settlement back in the day. And really, really old."
"Around three or four times a year," Max replied. It was an interesting answer. Ames wondered what it was about the place that would keep on inviting Max back at that frequency. "There's a view at the top that I really love. Figured I'd show you."
"That's very sweet," Ames commented, snorting to himself. "You hit the jackpot right there. You got lucky with me, bud."
"I know, I know," Max shyly admitted. "I gotta' brush up on things like this."
"Let's see the view then," Ames said, shoving the phone into the pouch on his belt. He could feel the hard plastic grip of what Max had just gifted him for completing his data gathering: a pepper gun. Max had seen him checking the non-lethal gun online, leading to a surprise purchase, much to Ames's delight. Ames couldn't have been happier that night. He couldn't exactly bring the Stallion-ONE around, but he could definitely carry a pepper gun, albeit respectfully and discreetly, strictly for self-defense purposes. A place like Blackbird Peak could house the most unexpected elements. It could've been turned into a den for drug use or some other undetected criminal activity. Then again, if Max was a frequent visitor, Ames doubted that anybody would be stupid enough to conduct illegal operations in the place where a powerful superhuman hung out for sight-seeing.
"It's a pretty amazing view," Max replied. They walked onward. Ames could tell that the endpoint was still far away. The current area still had a few meters until the next archway, and there were still some broken-down structures up ahead. Whatever this place was to Max, the man had surely shown some nostalgia about it earlier.
"I sure hope it's better than this one," Ames said, earning a playful ruffle of his hair by Max as they proceeded.
The rocky inclined path looked just like the one by the fence. This was also pretty much concealed, thick gatherings of trees on both sides. As creepy as the place looked, Ames actually quite enjoyed it. They'd been walking for a while now, and it had been a pleasantly quiet walk.
The air here smelled much cleaner. It was lighter and not as earthy.
"Must be quite a view up there, huh?" Ames inquired, his walking speed matching that of Max's. "I wonder what this place once looked like."
"Hmm," Max said. "It must've been busy. Private, but busy."
There was that nostalgic tone in his voice again. It certainly caught Ames's interest, but he figured it probably wasn't a good idea to press on unless Max spoke up about it.
"There's another abandoned settlement up ahead," Max announced, looking to his left. Ames observed as Max scanned the trees on that side. It was as if he was trying to locate something from his memory. "We're fifteen minutes away."
Max looked straight ahead again after a few seconds.
And just like that, the trek was silent once more.
They walked through another archway and into another abandoned settlement. A small clearing opened out to the view down the mountain, which was a wide field. The houses in the settlement, however, were camouflaged in the trees that grew around them. Still, they looked like they'd been ransacked. Bombed, even.
It all felt strategic and purposeful, how the houses were camouflaged in the trees.
Ames was much more hesitant to go about in this area. He wasn't scared of it, but he wasn't about to be reckless and wander around in an area that seemed to have been built with stealth in mind.
Instead, Ames allowed Max to lead him to the clearing. There were two tree stumps poking out from the ground, connected by a wooden slab that had been laid down to serve as a sitting surface. A makeshift bench.
Max took Ames to the makeshift bench. They sat down, taking off their large bags and putting them on the ground. The wood was fortunately dry. Not that Ames was expecting a totally neat experience in the trip, anyway.
Ames's eyes scanned the field below. The view was quite grand. Near the mountainside, a wooden fence barred sight-seers from the misfortune of falling off, but it was still low enough for seated onlookers to bask in the peaceful image of the wide field below.
'It's peaceful,' Ames thought, taking in the beautiful sight with the cool breeze that flowed around him. 'I see why he likes it here.'
"It is some view, I'll tell you that," Ames said, looking at Max, whose eyes seemed to be welling up. There was that look of nostalgia again, and this time, Ames was really starting to worry. He reached out toward Max, putting his hand on the man's shoulder. "You alright? You've been having the dreamy eyes since we flew over the fence."
Max looked back at him for a second, revealing just how strong that nostalgia was before looking back out to the field. It took Ames aback.
"What do you want to do, Ames?" Max inquired. The question felt so off-timed, and Max's hoarse voice made it sound more out of place. "What keeps you going?"
As worried as Ames was for Max, he ultimately decided to go along.
"I want to teach," Ames replied. "I want to empower people. Give them access to the knowledge they deserve to have, so they won't, um, be going around in the dark, not knowing what to stand for."
"I knew that," Max said solemnly, clearing his throat after. "My father used to ask me that question. In fact, the last proper conversation that I had with him before I became a Raven happened here. Our yard."
"Here?" Ames inquired, glancing around him. He wondered if that was why Max had been concealing this sadness in his looks the entire trip getting here. If that was, that made sense. "Here here?"
"Mhmm," Max replied, looking Ames right in the eyes. "I sit now where he did. You sit now on where I did. I miss him a lot. And that used to be our house."
Ames followed Max's finger as he pointed it toward a house to their right. It was the first house anybody coming in from the entrance of the settlement saw, and it was as camouflaged with its surroundings as the other abandoned houses.
Everything made so much more sense to Ames now. For a while, he had thought that Max just missed the place, but as it turned out, this used to be his home.
Ames felt a stab of guilt for his remarks earlier. He'd been appreciative, but he had also talked quite a lot about it in sarcastic ways, too. He hoped he hadn't offended Max.
"Is there another reason why you brought me here, Max?" Ames asked softly.
"Do I...," Max held his tongue. For a while. He eventually talked again. "How are you right now?"
"I am—um, I dunno'—healed?" Ames admitted. "Because of you, Max. Without you, I still would be a grieving mess. You made me better. A lot better."
"Thank you, Ames. That means a lot."
"What about you, Max? How are you?"
"I'm...," Max said, seemingly hesitating for a bit. "I'm good. I think I'm in a good place. I believe I'm in a good place."
A rather poignant thought slipped into Ames's mind.
"Am I, um, keeping you from where you want to be?" Ames asked. He hoped that Max wouldn't take that the wrong way. Saying it out loud had a strange effect on Ames that he couldn't identify accurately as of the moment. It was as if he had slipped into a bit of a defensive mode. He could only wonder why. A few more seconds and Ames knew that he was being defensive because he was scared of Max's answer, and that he had gotten so used to having Max around. He was scared that the question itself could trigger something he didn't want to be said or done. "I'm not dead weight to your original plans, right?"
"What? No! No, no, I...," Max stammered, looking at Ames with a worried expression on his face. "Of course you aren't. You make me happy. Why would you ask that?"
"I just want to know, Max...," Ames said. Now, he was starting to feel off, too, and his voice was getting hoarse. "Because I don't want to be the weight that pulls you away from where you want to be."
"You'll never be that weight. I swear. I promise. I..."
"You've helped me so much. You went out of your way and stayed in the city to help me heal. I don't think I've ever done anything to help you with what you were really trying to do..."
"I want to stay, Ames. I don't understand how you can be so dense sometimes. I want to stay with you."
A shivering breath escaped Ames's lips, and he shut his eyes in his attempt to placate his panicky thoughts.
"You want to stay with me?" Ames tried to process. "Is, eh, is that you talking? Or is that me talking through you back to me?"
"Me," Max insisted, a hand on his chest. "That's me. This is me. I'm talking about what I want. I want to stay with you."
Ames didn't know what to say.
Recently, Max had become such a huge part of his life. Ames wasn't prepared for even the slightest threat of losing that.
Because at the back of his mind, in the farthest space he'd wanted to put it in all along, he knew that it had always been a possibility in Max's case.
The reason why Max had been living with Ames all along was because he had just escaped decades of a life he had never really wanted for himself. There had always been the possibility that what Max had been hiding from could get close to finding him. If that were the case, Max would have to run again.
That part terrified Ames.
"I want to stay with you, Ames," Max repeated, grabbing Ames's hands. "I know that here. I know that here."
Ames watched as Max pointed to his chest with one hand, poking it almost.
"I know that here," Max continued, placing his pointing hand to his chest. "I know that here."
"Okay," Ames replied. His throat really hurt now, and his voice was almost whispering with the hoarseness. He cleared it up again. "Okay. Okay. I believe you."
"Do you really?"
"I do."
Ames knew he sounded selfish. He knew he did. He didn't know what lay ahead.
But if Max was saying these words with full autonomy from his empathic powers, Ames didn't want to argue.
"I do."
They had set up camp just near the bench. The tent was big enough for the both of them. Max was a very tall man, and Ames was only a few inches short. They needed their sleeping space to be comfortable and have leg room.
It was already noontime. It had been hours since they'd set up camp, and they'd already had their breakfast.
Their earlier conversation had been weighty, and Ames could still hear it at the back of his mind. That had always been the recurrent theme of their friendship, and Ames had just recently decided to be more honest about it.
Max had always brought a strong reaction out of him. Spending time with Max had always been an experience. An experience with all of the emotional investment and not always with the necessary clarity. Ames was glad that they'd finally settled that part down.
Ames slipped out of the tent, leaving Max behind in it. Max was busy reading a fictional book he'd brought along.
Ames had been wanting to try out Max's gift for a while now.
'There would have to be something here...,' Ames thought, looking around the place. He then found something that could be of use as a target: a rock. The next thing he needed was a spot to put the target on. 'Any tree should do.'
'Or the bamboo archway.'
'That should do.'
Ames walked over to the rock on the ground that was about as big as a fist. He picked it up and excitedly put it on a good place in the archway's bamboo skeleton.
"Thank you for your service," Ames whispered, backing up to a good ten meters and pulling out the pepper gun. The Sparrow Defender could still shoot accurately at that distance, and Ames was more than confident of his accuracy and precision. He went into a proper stance, offing the gun safety. "Not that you have much of a choice."
Ames aimed the gun forward, lining up the sights and compensating for the distance and the trajectory. He took a deep breath, keeping his sway at a minimum. Halfway through his exhalation, he pulled the trigger. The low-volume shot popped, and the projectile hit the mark, exploding into a cloud of white smoke upon impact on the rock.
"Hah!," Ames gasped, happy with the clean shot. "Anyone caught in the mist would be suffering by now."
'I can do one more.'
He aimed again, taking less time to pull the trigger.
Another direct hit.
It got him giddy. It had been a while since he'd tried out a proper gun in a proper range.
"Ames?" he heard Max call out from behind. Ames made sure to holster the pepper gun before turning to Max, who looked at him with an expression that was both curious and impressed. "You okay?"
"Yeah. Just testing the Sparrow."
"I see," Max replied, nodding slowly. "Good shot, by the way."
"There's more where that came from, soldier," Ames said proudly.
"Oh, is there?" Max asked, a proud smile on his face as he put his hands on his waist. "You're really something, aren't you?"
"Maybe someday, you can teach me a few things, Max."
"Someday."
Nighttime had fallen, and dinnertime was almost up.
They had decided not to roast anything. The last thing they needed was to start a fire and show up in the night. Keeping a low profile was key.
They sat in the closed tent, keeping a good enough illumination for just the two of them using a white photokinetic ball. They each helped themselves with their own canned afritada-style tunas and foldable utensils.
"I'm digging the survivalist camp feel of this little, um, camping trip," Ames said. "I wonder how you trained. Definitely must've been extensive."
"It was extensive, yes," Max said, dipping his fork into the tuna can. "Very extensive, actually. If the criminals up their game, we up our game higher. I did."
"The Severance Seven," Ames recalled, finishing his can. "They really were problematic, huh?"
"The worst we've had so far," Max replied, done with his own food. "Getting five of them, however, should be enough. Malign's dangerous because of his telepathy, but he's a team player and is an indirect attacker. He plans big. He needs big. He acts big."
"And now they're severely outnumbered," Ames pointed out.
"We're in the clear," Max said, putting aside his empty can. "Mostly."
"I'm going to wash them off," Ames said, grabbing the empty cans. "Then we store 'em up."
"Alright. And when you come back, I got something to show you."
Ames kept up with Max as they walked into the woods. Just in case, he had his pepper gun out. Their only illumination was a photokinetic orb.
"I think fireflies would be better, Max," Ames said, keeping in mind that the sight of a flying orb in the distance could suggest St. Elmo's Fire activity, which wouldn't register well. Fireflies looked more natural. If it ever really helped in these woods, at least the moon was shining brightly. The stars were visible, too. Not like stars did much to light up the woods, if at all.
"Yep," Max replied, flicking a hand and dispersing the photokinetic ball into a large sparkle of brilliant firefly constructs. They were definitely brighter than natural fireflies, but they should work better than an in-your-face orb. Max kept his hand forward. "Let's go."
Proceeding into the forest, Ames actually felt a little creeped out by the chilling darkness, but the comfort of having a superhuman companion and—at least—a non-lethal weapon was working well to keep the creeps down. The photokinetic fireflies flew ahead of them, illuminating the path as they cut through the forest.
"This next view better be a good one, Max," Ames commented.
"I promise. It is."
The wind was even chillier because of how elevated they were. Ames was glad that the place wasn't the fogging type. If it were, Max could just use his light powers anyway, but the more discreetly they carried on with the trip, the better.
It was a bit weird to Ames that there weren't any birds in sight. There weren't any crickets, even.
'Whoever named this place "Blackbird Peak" surely missed the part where there didn't seem to be any bird at all,' Ames thought. 'Black or otherwise.'
They went on their way. Soon enough, Ames could see a clearing up ahead, the sight of it peeking through the spaces between the trees.
"I can see the clearing," Ames said, slowly holstering his pepper gun. "What is this rock again?"
"The Astronomer's Rock," Max replied. "You're going to love it."
When they finally stepped out of the woods and into the clearing, Ames saw the rock that Max was talking about. It was a literal standout. The grass that grew around it stood thigh-high. It occurred to Ames that the threat of snakes was more real in this area than the threat of secret criminal activity. He definitely should've had that in mind back in the woods. He surely did now.
"There could be snakes around here...," Ames said.
"I got that covered," Max replied, clenching his fist and dissipating the light constructs. Ames watched as Max stepped forward. "There's a trick that I learned long ago that I haven't tried in a while. This might feel a bit weird."
"Okay?" Ames said, stepping back a bit and poising himself for what was coming.
Max made an X with his arms, took a deep breath in, and stretched his arms back out to the sides quickly as he exhaled. In a split-second, Ames felt an invisible wave of energy around him, followed by two more. They were soft pushes, but they didn't feel foreign. It was as if Ames had made himself react to three pushes that hadn't happened. "What was that?"
"Pathokinetic pulse," Max explained, looking back at him. "Sent out a fear activator. No response from anything or anybody. We should be good."
"I didn't feel any fear," Ames said, impressed by the new display of power.
"I put an empathic shield around you," Max replied, winking. "Cool, huh?"
"Did your powers grow or what?" Ames asked, walking up to Max's side and grabbing his arm. "That's cool."
"No. I just got back to meditating again, so I've been regaining the mental ground I once had over them. Over my powers and everything."
"Like the difference between a high kick and a split."
"Exactly."
"Let's get to the rock, shall we?"
The climb up the rock was an adventure all on its own. Ames was glad that he was wearing the appropriate clothes. Max was respectful enough not to cheat his way to the top of the rock by flying. He actually did take on the climb level by level, assisting Ames when needed.
"I swear, I would've shot you in the ass if you'd flown the way up," Ames said through his grunt as he pulled himself up to his feet, grabbing onto Max's hand for support. "Not that it'll hurt you or anything."
"Come on," Max said, guiding him forward. Ames kept his steps careful as he followed Max to the edge of the rock, their hands interlocked for security. It really was some view: a wide clearing, a giant rock randomly standing in the middle of the open space, a view of a starry night sky, and a sea of green grass.
They stopped near the edge. The full moon shone in its cold glory, reigning over the starlight that decorated the night sky. The view up above and the view around them came together into an impressive combo of natural phenomena, but it almost felt like the rock wasn't supposed to be where it was, merely dropped from the sky. Putting all of those elements together, however, Ames could see the appeal of the Astronomer's Rock a lot better.
"Ames," he heard Max call out softly. He turned to Max, who proceeded to hold him in place by the shoulders. For some reason, Max's gesture gave Ames goosebumps. "I need to tell you something."
But the pleasant kind.
There was something in how the moonlight came upon Max's face that was alluring. The addition of the man's sincere gaze into the mix made the view even more captivating. Ames didn't know what was coming next, but if he had to guess, Max was going to say something important.
"Promise me you'll listen without your usual comebacks and puns?" Max asked.
"Okay, soldier," Ames replied, nodding reassuringly. "Shoot."
"No pathokinesis," Max continued, lowering his hands to Ames's and settling there. The way his hands brushed and linked with Ames's had a unique energy to it, but it wasn't the same one that Ames felt whenever Max used his emotion-based powers. It felt natural. Ames knew he was getting a bit tense, so he tightened his grip on Max's hands just to get some warmth. "No manipulations. No empathy. Just me. Me being honest."
'Oh boy, what is this...,' Ames wondered, sneaking a sigh as he continued to stare at Max's face.
"Ames. Someone once told me long ago that somewhere out there, the person that I felt for would most probably be looking at the same stars as I would be. I didn't think that I would survive this long to confirm that."
'Wait, what?' Ames thought, scanning Max's face. The guy was sincere. As always. Ames could see where this was heading, and as nervous as he was, he knew deep inside his heart that he wanted to hear what Max wanted to say.
"The thing is, Ames, I've been looking at those stars with the person who has me. With the person who I want to have me, however that can be. Whatever that takes. I just don't think this person has realized that. Or if he even cared to or wanted to. Or if I wanted to. But we have. We have."
'Oh gosh,' Ames couldn't stop his reactive blinking. He realized that his heart had been beating rather fast, and it was as if realizing it was speeding it up even more. 'Is this what I think it is?'
"It's just that, sometimes, the sky's too cloudy for us to recognize what we're looking at or it's too cloudy so we don't bother to look. But the stars were always there, Ames. I've always been looking, and..."
Ames could remember the night that they'd first shared the space of his bedroom floor, the night Tyler had tortured Max by quizzing him. He remembered Max's words then. How Max came back to those words now, Ames could only look back at him in enchanted attention for.
"I feel here, in my heart, that you've been looking, too, Ames. Like me."
'I understand,' Ames thought to himself. His heartbeat was consistent. Consistently fast. 'Maybe I understood it before I knew what to say of it.'
"I swear to God Almighty, if I have misread you all along, I'm gonna' be so embarrassed."
That line was a good break from the trance Ames could feel himself falling into. It was a momentary break, but the humble honesty in Max's words was so rich that Ames couldn't help but laugh.
"Don't laugh at me! I'm trying to confess here!" Max protested in between his own laughs.
Ames's laughter fell into warm silence. He had known halfway through the monologue that Max was headed there. Max's sudden bluntness, however, was still a surprising jump across the gap.
Ames was about as swept off his feet as he was surprised.
Max seemed to have noticed his own sudden bluntness and resorted to a thoughtful silence as well.
"Did I just say that?" Max asked. He sounded so helplessly cute to Ames with that.
"Yes, you did," Ames replied, his tone soft and understanding. Seeing Max this fragile and insecure looked so cute to Ames, and if his hands had been free, he would've reached up to give Max's face a squeeze.
'Oh, you sweet giant, you,' Ames thought, trying to stay low key in how he found Max so adorable. 'Just tell me immediately, dammit.'
"I think I need to redo that," Max suggested.
"Perhaps...," Ames replied, nodding supportively. "Show me the stars, please. And the moon, too."
"What do you mean?"
"Fly me up, Max. Make us invisible and fly me up."
"You sure you won't get scared?"
"Don't worry," Ames said reassuringly, stepping forward close to Max and offering himself to be lifted up. "I'll focus on the stars."
He watched as the look of embarrassment on Max's face transitioned into hope. Ames saw the transition first and foremost in Max's eyes.
Max nodded affirmatively.
They moved into the security of each other's supporting arms the way they'd done when Max had flown Ames to the morning sky that Sunday from two weeks past.
"Ready?" Max asked.
Ames looked up to the sky. It was quite a view, indeed. The moon and the stars were a visual treat. The moon looked so regal in its pale glory. It dominated the night sky with its light.
"I got my eyes on the stars," Ames answered, smiling as he kept his eyes up.
"Alright. Concealing us now."
Not long after, he could feel himself taking off. They were already flying up, and Ames kept his eyes to the stars. In his periphery, he could see the silhouettes of the trees around the clearing sinking away from his sight. The stars didn't expand in his eyes. Of course. He knew they were far away. Max had him secured by the midsection, and he put his faith on the man's inability to let him get hurt.
Eventually, he felt their ascent come to a stop.
Ames lowered his gaze from the stars to the moon, and then further down to the uninhabited space below. In the distance, far beyond the field down the mountain, the city lights shone like stars from the ground, matching the view above it.
"May I speak now, Ames?"
"Yes, please."
Ironically, it took a while for Max to speak, even with Ames looking back at him.
"I have feelings for you, Ames...," Max finally said, an almost pleading expression on his face.
A comforting warmth blossomed in Ames's chest upon hearing the words. For some time now, they'd been trying to conceal what they'd grown into feeling for each other. Ames had been unsure then of how he would process everything after having to deal with Harvey, Malign, and superhuman drama. Recently, however, he'd grown much closer to Max. While he hadn't been outright in acknowledging his feelings, he definitely had become more confident in showing them in ways that felt respectable for the both of them.
"I don't know what to make of these feelings," Max continued. Ames maintained eye contact to encourage Max to keep talking. Ames had something to say later on, too. "But I do know what I don't want to just be. I know that I don't want to just be your friend. I know that I don't want to just be your best friend. I know that I want to be more, because I know I feel so much more. I don't know exactly what it is or where else it will lead, but I would like to celebrate it for being here and let it take me where it will."
Ames understood where Max was coming from. They were both adults coming from histories of pain and tragedy. They had spent their years clamoring for purpose, forged by the painful chapters that had marked their trajectories. They both knew very well the purpose and the power of their words and decisions. Considering how their fates had been seemingly tied together, Ames knew they both knew to be careful.
"I know our lives have been crazy," Max resumed. "There are a lot of things that have happened. Then again, we live in a world where people like me exist. I know where you come from. You know where I come from. Here we are. Riding one current. I just hope that you feel the same way, too. But I understand if you don't. You don't owe me anything."
Ames took it all in. He was more than ready to speak out his own thoughts. It was sad that Max felt that way. The past month had shown so well how Max was a naturally selfless man. The man's guilt for going MIA in the middle of a crisis had its own reasons, and Ames knew that he would get the answers eventually. However, he couldn't question the goodness that Max had in himself. It was tremendous and instinctive. Ames would have to argue that he did owe Max a lot of things. Ames's very survival this whole time was something to thank Max for again and again. What Ames had to say, however, he didn't pull from debt of honor. This was something that his heart had known from early on. This time, he was more than ready to recognize it as indulgently as he could and to accept it for what it was and where it could lead.
"I think you'll be glad to know, Max," Ames spoke, looking more intently into Max's eyes to make it stick. "That I feel the same way for you. Just as strongly."
The sight of Max's eyes welling up and his lips curving into a relieved smile came upon Ames like a waft of sparkling sweet fragrance. It was a pleasant experience all on its own.
"You mean that?" Max almost stammered, his voice nearly breathless.
Ames used his free hand to give Max's cheek a light pinch. Max used his own free hand to hold it in place.
"Yes," Ames said. He made sure to say it clearly. "No pathokinesis. No debt of honor. Just me. My own heart and my own mind."
"You're not scared to see where this leads?" Max asked, holding Ames's hand tighter.
"No," Ames replied. "You can cast that into the stars and to every sparkle of fireflies we come across. Set it in every Astronomer's Rock that exists. I'm not afraid."
And then there it was again.
Ames watched in marvel as Max's eyes turned into brilliant solar gold. The subtle look of deep-seated happiness that served as the backdrop of the captivating vision of his eyes glowing like suns made Max even more beautiful. It was an otherworldly beauty, like that of a sun god.
Max looked like a sun god taking a mortal up to the skies to show him the moon and the stars from their own secret world. It was a different kind of crazy. Considering the other kind of insanity that the rest of their world and their reality offered, however, this was the kind of crazy that Ames would choose to deal with every second that he could.
They moved in for a full embrace, and Ames hadn't felt this selfish and indulgent in what felt like a painfully long time. He savored it. He took the entire experience in and lingered in the security and the warmth of Max's embrace.
He could tell that Max was doing the same.
"No clouds tonight," Max spoke as he dug his face onto Ames's clavicle.
"Who needs them when you have the stars?" Ames replied, looking up at the glittering blanket of celestial darkness above. There really were no clouds tonight.
And even if there were, Ames knew there would always be stars in hiding, just waiting to be acknowledged.