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3 A.M. is that almost mystical time of day when you’re on the edge of sleep-deprived insanity, but not quite lost yet. A time that exists between the land of the waking and the realm of dreams, and it’s in this weird space that sometimes the best conversations happen.
But for such a mystical time, there wasn’t anything special about their current set up. Itaru and Tsumugi lay side by side, shoulders touching, on Itaru’s twin mattress that just barely fit the two of them, but they made it work. In the quiet ambience of the early morning, they wore the night away, chatting about anything and everything as they idly stared up at the multitude of dimly glowing plastic stars stuck to the ceiling, some nearly peeling off from overuse. There was definitely nothing magical about them — they were just the cheap plastic stars you could find at the dollar store.
Despite how old the decorations were at this point, Itaru just couldn’t let go of them, and so they had followed him from house to house, originating from his childhood room. As a child, those stars were his guiding light when he felt lonely at night. Peacefully watching them, he would be transported into the world of his favorite game, Knights of Round IV. Laying in the grass by the lake with fairy Gwen at his side, together they’d reach for stars that shined so brilliantly and whispered promises of happier times.
When the sun rose in this world, he was a hero, charging full ahead into epic battles with powerful monsters, slashing at them with all his might as he shouted “Aqua Sword!” Gwen always accompanied him into battle, healing his physical wounds from battle and soothing his mental wounds and fatigue from the real world. And after they tired of fighting these challenging, yet exciting battles, they’d return back to their familiar spot by the lake, their youthful smiles reflected in its clear waters. They’d retell their favorite moments from that day’s battles, Itaru striking a dramatic pose in imitation of the final boss and Gwen faking a fearful response, only for the both of them to break into laughter moments later, Gwen’s giggles a faint twinkling in the wind, made only for his ears. In this world, he didn’t have to worry about what others thought — he could be himself, and be loved for his full, nerdy self. But once the sun rose in the real world, he was forced to log out this world created by the stars, and instead fight the not-so-fun solo battles of anxiety, secrecy, and lies.
It had been awhile since Itaru needed to rely on those stars to visit another universe, at first simply because he didn’t have time to daydream and forget his real life responsibilities anymore, and later because the hole in his heart was filled by the family he found at Mankai. Yet somehow, listening to Tsumugi ramble into the early morning hours, Itaru felt that magical feeling of being transported to a different world with these cheap plastic stars again, although it was no longer a coping mechanism, the familiar world where he reached for the stars to escape from the loneliness of the real world. His present-day journey began with Tsumugi, whose excitement pulled Itaru with him up into the night sky, from star to star, each one a new universe, as if they were adventuring into a brand new game each time.
It didn’t matter what they talked about. Itaru might start by ranting about his work day or a game he was looking forward to playing. Tsumugi might not understand the mechanics of Itaru’s games, but he’d never miss a beat, responding with a question or launching into a memory or a story about something he liked that he thought of after listening to Itaru’s rambling. They’d go back and forth like this, learning more and more about each other with each parry of their swords, until they reached a high enough friendship level to form a party. They created the perfect party of two, putting together unstoppable attack combos and supporting each other at just the right moment. Sometimes, that faint twinkling of the wind followed them through their journeys, a little nudge of support from Itaru’s first friend in the dreamy world among the stars.
And every once in awhile, when Itaru stopped for a moment to register the way his chest warmed at the sound of Tsumugi’s soft laughter and the way his lips naturally curved into a smile listening to Tsumugi’s voice, he could feel himself treading into the wrong game genre, but he didn’t need to look at an otome game’s affection meter to gauge the growing affection between the two of them.
With each conversation topic they bounced from, with each new memory they shared together, they lit up another area in their world map, another star unlocked to illuminate a constellation made just for them. This constellation may not be tangible in the physical world, but it made its home among the plastic stars on the ceiling, burning brightly and confidently, smiling upon the two of them even as the sun rose and they drifted to sleep, side by side, under its warm glow. Something for just the two of them, existing amongst the hushed chatter of Itaru’s room, at that special time of 3 A.M.