There had never been many stars in the skies above Portalia. The light pollution from the major cities, the small distances to the sun and nearby planets and the thick atmosphere meant only the light of the brightest stars made it to the eyes of stargazers. Instead, the sky was often filled with passing ships, or falling debris, leaving comet-like trails in the sky as they burned up in the atmosphere. Not that much of it could be seen past the hazy clouds that often filled Portalia’s sky.
That night though, the sky was free of clouds. Geekay and Veekay both had nothing to do and were spending it laying in the tall grass not far from their new home. They had been a couple for years, so long that they hardly remembered not being with each other. This was the first time that they’d laid together, watching the stars, doing nothing in particular.
“This is… weird…” Veekay muttered, as something small and insignificant fell across the sky.
“What is weird?”
Neither of them had spoken in a while. There was no silence, they could hear their friends and family chatting, living, existing in the distance, but otherwise the only sounds were those of the wind and the grass.
“This.”
Geekay didn’t answer at first, trying to work out what Veekay was talking about.
“I don’t follow.”
“It’s… hard to explain.”
“Well, why don’t you try?”
The couple fell silent again, while Veekay attempted to form a coherent sentence. They watched the sky for a little longer, before Veekay spoke again.
“It’s the nothingness.”
“What nothingness?”
“The nothingness of it all.”
Geekay didn’t answer for a moment, once again confused by Veekay’s words.
“Uh, dear, I still don’t get it.”
Something flashy flew through the sky. It was probably a ship on its way to the port. The sight prompted Veekay to speak again.
“I’ve worked nearly every single day of my life. I’ve always been busy doing my job. Always thinking about what I needed to do tomorrow. Spending my hours worrying and hoping that everything goes right.”
“We all have, Veekay. Well, apart from some of us…”
“Don’t be like that. You know what I mean. We’re so busy and caught up with our lives.”
“Yeah… Where are you going with this?”
Veekay answered with another question. “What are we doing right now?”
“Uh… talking?”
“We’re doing nothing.”
Geekay fell silent again. He felt stupid, not understanding what his partner was talking about. Veekay realised that and finally found the words to explain what he was thinking.
“When was the last time we got to sit around and genuinely do nothing?”
“… I don’t remember. Well… We didn’t do much in the catacombs. Or during that time before the Kalsa Warrior rebellion…”
A trio of lights streaked across the sky, the familiar trails of a Cassid commercial ship, followed by yet more trails – several other ships were following it. Geekay found himself distracted by the various flashes of light above him.
“None of that was nothing though, was it? We were all worrying about our jobs and tomorrow and the future and things like that. We weren’t just… lying there…”
It suddenly occurred to Geekay what Veekay was trying to explain.
“We’re… doing nothing. Nothing at all… Haven’t done that in a long time…”
“Yeah…”
The pair fell silent. Veekay began to count how many ships he could see, while Geekay pondered about how right Veekay was. Their entire lives, they had been busy going from one thing to another. Even when they were on holiday, they still spent their time working part time. Only now were they free to sit back and do nothing.
“This truly is weird…”
“It is…” Veekay smiled slightly, then went back to staring at the sky.
The wind had died down, making the air feel warmer. Veekay found himself lost in thought. Suddenly, Geekay rolled over, on top of Veekay.
“You know what else we haven’t done in a long time?” Geekay smirked.
“What?” Veekay asked innocently.
“Snuggle.”
Veekay grinned, then wrapped his arms around Geekay’s wait, pulling him closer.
“Say no more, my dear. Say no more…”