Galactiquest

Leon walked with his head held high. Each pastel building he passed was a treat for the eyes, and he took in the sights with all the gusto of a kid set loose in a candy store.

“Look!” He pointed out a patch of dark blue in the sky. “I think I see an error message!”

“Heh. Wouldn’t be Lunaria without one.” The crowd almost drowned Emil out. “Hey, watch out!”

“Hm?” was the last thing Leon asked before smacking into a stop sign’s pole. “Ow!” Despite the pain, he couldn’t help but laugh at himself as he rubbed his face.

Emil joined in. “You might wanna keep your eyes on the ground.”

“But there’s so much to see.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t let you miss out on much.” With a wave of the hand, he batted away Leon’s concerns.

“I at least want to take a picture of the error message.” The two stopped at the crosswalk signal, so Leon took the opportunity to dig through his jacket’s many pockets. Nothing came up.

Before he could check again, Emil took out his phone and snapped a picture.

“Aw, Emil, you didn’t have to do that.”

“I did. You don’t have your phone on you, remember?”

“Oh, right!” Leon slapped his face. Unfortunately, it was the same side that hit the pole. “Thanks. Part of me is a little nervous leaving it with Ángie after–you know. But I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

“That’s the spirit. You just gotta believe.”

“Yeah! I told him a few days ago that after talking to you, it feels like everything’s gonna turn out okay.” Just looking at Emil made him feel more confident. “That reminds me! I was meaning to ask you–Woah.”

The closer they got to the next corner, the harder it was to tell where the street ended and the sidewalk began, but the size of the crowd didn’t catch Leon’s attention. Their style did.

Even though they’d passed a few spacepunks on the way over, he’d never seen so many in one place. It was like a fan convention for a sci-fi show that didn’t exist, except all the cosplayers were models. He found himself dazzled from every direction.

“Everyone here is dressed to the nines…”

“Sorry, didn’t catch that! What did’ja wanna ask?” Emil had to yell even though he walked right next to him.

“I just said everyone’s dressed so nice. Anyway, I meant to ask you,” something zipped through the air, “what was that? I thought Lunaria didn’t have birds.”

“Looked like a delivery drone.”

“They have delivery drones here?? That’s so cool!”

“I’m kinda surprised too. I mean, I knew they had ‘em, but last I heard, they were being phased out ‘until further notice.’” Emil made air quotes. “There were a few accidents with them dropping stuff on busy streets like this. They ended up makin’ them fly lower so it wouldn’t be so dangerous, but that just made ‘em easier to steal from.”

“Aww man. I’m glad I got to see one before they’re gone. So, I’m guessing this is where we’re headed?” The sign above the street answered before Emil had to. “Ah, there it is! Main Street.”

“I’ll let the group chat know we made it.” Emil waved Leon over to a nearby storefront, whipped out his phone, and began tapping and swiping until something made his eyebrows jump. “Shoot, why didn’t I think of that? Roxie says we should come up with nicknames to blend in a little better. Something spacepunk-y.”

“Oh boy! Can I take a crack at it?”

“Knock yourself out!”

Gears turned in Leon’s mind. “Okay, so I feel like we should go with something kind of close to our real names so we don’t forget.”

“Makes sense.”

“Mine would probably have to do with the moon, Luna, Lunar, something like that. You, I feel like you could get a lot of mileage out of a pun starting with E. Like E-mail? Hm, I feel like we can do better than that. E-Ther, like ‘into the ether’?” He shook his head. “I can’t help feeling like I’m missing something obvious.”

“E-Clipse?”

“E-Clipse! You’re a genius!”

“You’d be the first to say that. E-Clipse, E-Clipse,” Emil mulled over the name, “yeah, I like the ring of it.”

A realization struck Leon so hard, he gasped. “And I can be Lunar. Lunar E-Clipse! It’s perfect!”

“Ooooh, that’s a good name for a duo who does–That!” Emil’s eyes glued onto something across the street.

Leon searched all over, but so many interesting things stood out to him that he had no way of knowing what Emil saw. “What, wearing reflective face paint? Handing out tissues in alien costumes? Posing with the moving statues in the gym? Wait, are those people?”

“No, not the gym models, a little more to the left. The girl in pigtails.”

True to his word, there she strolled, a pink haired girl in a skirt flared out like a UFO. The guy filming stepped back, awkwardly trying to keep up pace as she walked toward his camera.

“Who is she…?” Leon found himself mesmerized by her graceful stride.

“I think she’s a space vlogger. They’re really blowing up right now, and there’s gotta be tons of ‘em around Lunaria. That could be our cover. We’d blend right in!”

“Yeah…” He shook himself back into focus after she disappeared around the corner. “Wait, but don’t we already blend in?”

“Doesn’t hurt to have a little extra oomph.” Emil leaned against the store window with a wink. “‘Sides, it’ll give us all the more reason to hang around the hotspots. Makes for great content.”

“And we can interview people to maybe find out more about the girl we’re looking for!”

“Not a bad idea,” The compliment caused a flutter of pride in his chest, “but Rookie, I gotta be real with you, we’d do better finding a needle in a haystack. Look at this crowd.”

Leon didn’t have to to see that he had a point. But what’s a point when he had resolve? “C’mon, we can’t give up that easily. The captain’s counting on us. What if he asks what we did all day?”

“We just say where we were and that we didn’t find her. Simple as that.” Emil shrugged.

“I dunno,” Leon stepped away, looking out into the crowd, “I wouldn’t feel right about it. I’ve got enough things to lie about as it is.”

“...Hey.” A tap on the shoulder brought him face to face with a much closer Emil, his voice soft. “Tell you what? We can look for her and see the sights along the way, give it a real honest try. We just gotta find a way to ask about her subtly, otherwise we’ll look real suspicious.”

“Got it. Sounds like a plan!”

Emil’s head lowered with a chuckle. “Of course. I can’t have fun by myself. And I guess there’s gotta be someone around to keep me on the straight and narrow.”

“Well, gee, I dunno about narrow and–”

A clearing of his throat cut Leon off.

Right, they’re in public now. “You’re doing a great job at both of those things!”

“Thanks.” He exhaled, leaning back on the window. “Speaking of, sightseeing’s not the only reason I dragged you along.”

“It’s not?”

“No, I needed your opinion on something as a,” Emil smirked, “a ladies’ man.”

“Me?” Leon had to laugh. “I’ve only dated five girls!”

“Only?” Emil lifted his sunglasses in shock. “Didn’t know you had it like that, loverboy.” As if Leon could ever match the slickness that ‘loverboy’ rolled off of his tongue. It bounced around his mind. “Anyway, I wanted to get your opinion on these outfits. Be honest, do they look over the top? Too flashy? Flamboyant?”

“I dunno. Everyone’s dressed pretty flashily.”

Emil sunk into the shade cast by the building. “Think about the other guys walkin’ by. How do we stack up?”

Leon turned his head to study the other guys only to be distracted by more and more girls. Every time the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen walked past, another entered his eyeline. Kind of hard to focus on men with that going on.

When he finally managed, he figured out why. Most guys dressed blander in comparison, aside from a few going for a more avant garde look, really putting the ‘punk’ in spacepunk. Only a few guys passed that he would call stylish.

“Rookie? I mean, Lunar?”

Leon spun to face his own frosted tips in the window and the person who dyed them. “I think I kind of blend in with the others. You’re easily the best-looking guy here. Hands down.”

That did not bring a smile to Emil’s face. Instead, he leaned his head back with a sigh. Leon barely heard him mutter, “So much for staying low-key.”

“I mean, you always stand out; it’s not really how you’re dressed.”

“R-Reallyyy?” He looked around, then beckoned Leon with a wave of the hand and a hushed voice. “What makes you say that? Anything specific?”

“Nothing jumps out that I can put my finger on. You just have a way about you that says ‘Hey, this is a super cool guy.’ At least that’s how I felt when I first saw you.”

“Oh!” That surprised Emil, but in a way that got him to smile this time. He sighed in relief. “Thanks. I was startin’ to worry I stood out a different way.”

“What way?” Leon felt like he lost the plot of this conversation at some point.

“Don’t you worry about it! What we need to worry about is our vlog.” Emil pushed himself off of the window, fiddling with his phone the whole time. “I figure if either one of us is gonna be the face of the channel, it should be you. Your name’s first, after all.”

“Me? But you seem like you’d make the better host.” Leon found himself with Emil’s phone pointed at his face before he even finished.

“C’mooon, don’t sell yourself short. You got that small town charm that makes you easy to connect with. Relatability’s real big right now! Also, you’re on camera. Smile!”

“Oh! Hello, internet.” He stood there, mind blank, while Emil urged him to continue with a roll of the hand. Thankfully, the words came to him soon after. “So, I’m here in Lunaria. Can you believe it? I sure can’t. This is my life’s dream! Or, well, going to space in general is my life’s dream, but this is a close second. They’re basically the same tier.”

“What’s your name?” whispered Emil.

“My na–? Whoops, I forgot to introduce myself! Hi, I’m Leon–I mean Lunar.”

Emil lowered his phone. “Let’s call it a test run. Nice job for bein’ put on the spot like that. We can run it back and workshop a smoother intro, ‘kay?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Leon joined him to watch the replay, leaning in as close as Emil’s shoulder pads would allow.

Behind the sunglasses, Emil’s brows scrunched up. “Was my hand really that shaky?”

“I can’t really hear myself over the crowd. Do you think we need a real camera for this?”

Air sucked through his teeth. “I ran a liiiittle low on funds yesterday–”

“Buying decorations for the ship?”

“It was Mia’s choice.”

“Wow, I didn’t know she had such expensive tastes.” Leon wanted to tag along, but Emil insisted on taking her.

“Hey, she had good reasons for her picks.” Emil looked back and forth as if he expected something. “I don’t know how much I have to spare for a camera, but I can check.” His hands pressed against his pocketless clothes. “Did I give you my wallet?”

“I don’t remember you giving me anything. Was it already in the jacket?” Leon began to check.

“No, no, I made sure to hand it to,” Emil grimaced, “Lorie. Uh oh.”

“It’s okay!” Leon lifted his own wallet. “I can pay for it. It’s not like I’ve been using my paycheck for much of anything.”

“Whew, you’re a lifesaver.” As nice as it was having Emil take care of things, Leon appreciated the chance to be his hero for a change. Emil checked something on his phone. “Good, there’s a tech store a few blocks from here. Let’s go!”

A burst of cool air soon welcomed the duo into Techno Elysium. Leon had been to one of the chain’s stores before, but its sheer size, state-of-the art offerings, and sleek white walls broken up by glossy colored blobs made all earthbound locations look like antique stores.

“Hello, shoppers.”

“Hi–Woah!” He stumbled into Emil upon realizing that the woman greeting them didn’t exist. “A hologram? I knew they existed, but–Wow, incredible…”

Emil readjusted his shoulder pad. “Guess they didn’t have any at your base.”

“No? There’s more in the IF?”

The hologram spoke again before he could respond. “My name is Sofi. Is there anything I can help you find today?”

“Huh??” Now it was his turn to be shocked. “She can hear us?”

Leon didn’t need an answer. “Hi Sofi! We’re looking for cameras, do you know where they are?”

“The camera section is located on the east side of this store, at the rear.” She turned to direct them. “For more specific directions, feel free to ask any of our staff members. Be sure to check out our sale on microphones while you’re there.”

“Thanks!” He barely registered Emil. Awe glued Leon in place, slack jawed. “Well, you heard her.”

“O-Okay, Sofi. Thank you, Sofi! Bye, Sofi!” Leon managed to pry himself away, but not without a wave goodbye. He caught up to Emil. “Did you see that? I can’t believe that kind of technology even exists. I gotta tell Ángie. Maybe we can send a picture!”

“It’s somethin’ else for sure.” Emil slapped his forehead. “Shoot, I shoulda taken a video of you and her! The others would’ve loved seein’ your reaction.”

“Don’t worry! I’ll make sure to reenact it later.”

That made him break into a surprisingly cute laugh. “I think they’re that way.”

“Hm? Oh right, the cameras.” Leon hadn’t realized how long he’d been staring. “I see a few tables with them, next to the TVs.”

It didn’t take them long to reach their destination. People of all ages, spacepunk or otherwise, filled the store, but this section attracted a younger crowd. Leon and Emil fit like a glove among the well-dressed teens to twenty-somethings. The area was less busy than the rest of the place, and soon Leon saw why.

“Half a grand for a camera?” His eyebrows shot up. “I guess I could probably afford it, but–”

“There’s no use in dropping a buncha money for what we’re doing.” Emil’s foot tapped. “We’re just beginners, after all.”

“Hey!” A boy nearby called out to them. He had to have been around Angelo’s age. “You guys are ViewTubers?”

“We’re trying to be.” answered Leon. “I’m Lunar, and he’s E-Clipse.”

“Together, we’re Lunar E-Clipse!” Emil added.

“I’m _aaronawesomesauce, future member of Super Sandwich Squad, proud channel of 15 subscribers. Check ‘em out.”

Aaron shoved his phone in their faces. It displayed his account name along with a list full of default avatars and model profiles, all with keysmash names full of random numbers. Leon only spotted two or three accounts that weren’t clearly bots.

“If we trade subs, I can help get your channel off the ground. What do you say?”

“We haven’t made our profile yet.” Emil told him.

“That’s cool. You can just like one of my videos from your other accounts as a reminder.”

“I don’t have a ViewTube account.”

Aaron looked at Leon.

“Sorry, I don’t have my phone with me.” Leon raised his hands.

“Oh, I see how it is.” Aaron stared them up and down, then smirked. “Playing hard to get, huh? ‘Oooo, look at us! We have integrity!’ Listen, I get that some people are into that. Easy rookie mistake to make, but you’re not gonna get your numbers up with that attitude. Here, let me show you how it’s done. You guys are looking for cheap cameras, right?”

“Yeah?”

He motioned for them to follow him to the middle of the display table and grabbed a camera. “Bam! Under $100. They put the expensive stuff on each end of the tables so people’ll see ‘em first. Insider knowledge.”

“Do you work here?” asked Leon.

“Not anymore! With this baby, I’m moving on to greener pastures, full of money.” Aaron caressed the camera in his hands, then started cooing at it. “We’re gonna make such good content together.”

“Hey, thanks for the intel; it really helps us out.” Emil moved toward the other cameras. “We’ll leave you two alone. Good luck on the channel.”

“Not so fast!” Aaron’s finger wagged at them. “Sub for sub?”

“Seriously, I don’t have a channel to subscribe with.”

“I crosspost!”

“I don’t have any social media accounts.”

“What??” Leon and Aaron reacted at the same time.

Aaron’s face twisted in disbelief. “How do you even know what ViewTube is if you don’t have an account?” With each question, he leaned closer. “Do you even use the internet? Are you one of those people who don’t use technology at all? Is it a religion thing? Do you know you’re on the Moon right now? Do you know what the Moon is?”

“Geez, slow down!” Emil held his hands out. “My mom’s a reporter and doesn’t ask this many questions!”

“So you do know about reporters and moms.” Aaron took a deep breath. “I never thought I’d have to do this but…”

Out of one of his many pants pockets, he took out a card and handed it to Leon. All Leon could make out of its original text was a name starting with ‘D’ and ending with ‘E.’ The rest of the contact information had been scribbled out and replaced with ‘@_aaronawesomesauce on ViewTube’, a doodle of himself, some explosions, and the Super Sandwich Squad logo.

“Look after your friend, okay?” He tilted his head toward an extremely confused Emil. Just as he was about to walk away, he turned around. “Have you guys seen any red headed boys with freckles?”

“Not any boys, no. Other than you.” answered Leon.

Aaron thought for a moment. “If you see a short one, you know who to DM. If they’re my height, you didn’t see me here. Got it?”

“Sure?”

“Good. Remember to smash that subscribe button.” On that note, he made his exit.

“I can still lurk. And I know what the Moon is!” Emil muttered to no one in particular. “Whatever, let’s look for some cameras.” Something lifted his spirits. “Oooh, this one’s under $100, and it’s supposed to be for vlogging.”

Leon joined him. “That’s perfect! But you seriously don’t have any social media? At all?”

“You’re probably wondering how an attention hog like me survives.” Grabbing a camera box from under the table, Emil flashed him a chip-toothed smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll tell you all about it once we get outta here.” He studied the box. “We’re probably gonna need some mics for these.”

“Sofi said they’re on sale.”

“Should we ask where they are?” Emil thumbed back to a nearby staff member.

“She mentioned them being somewhere nearby. I’m sure we can find them!"

Leon’s confidence led them to many places. It led them to the TV section, the computer section, and the section with kitchen appliances. It led them back to Sofi, though she was unable to give more specific directions.

None of this deterred him at all. Sometimes a journey had more to offer than the destination, and between seeing all the cool gadgets and having Emil by his side, spending hours in this store didn’t sound so bad. Not to mention that, otherwise, he may have never laid his eyes on him.

“What happened, did you find the mics?” Emil stepped back to where Leon stopped.

“Oh no, I…” Leon grew up seeing many toy dogs, stuffed dogs, and other dog-shaped knick-knacks. None sparked such longing as the robot dancing on the shelf beside him. Made almost entirely of circles and small enough to fit in one hand, its beady eyes and wiggling body captured his heart. “Look at it.”

“I’m lookin’.” Emil leaned towards it. “Cute.”

“I always wanted a dog.” The words tumbled out of Leon’s mouth. “Ángie’s afraid of them, so we never got one, plus it’d be too sad to get one and have to leave it behind when I’m gone to space.” he picked the toy up, “But this couldn’t hurt a fly. It doesn’t have sharp teeth or sharp anything. He’s portable, and” something on the box jumped out at him, “he can do a flip!”

“You sound like Roxie. She’d adore something like this, and I gotta admit I’m fond of the little guy. It’s about $50, though. What do you think~?”

Leon struggled to think of anything but the dog dancing in his hand. After a mental struggle, he put it back on the shelf with a heavy sigh. “I can hear my mom telling me to practice responsible spending. We should see how much the microphones cost first, and if it’s not too much, we’ll see.”

“Wow, such restraint! I get it though. This isn’t quite the same, but it’s like that voice that tells you to ask for the code word when your parents pick you up from school.”

“One, me and Ángie walked home from school. Two, what?”

“The code word they’re supposed to say back before you get in the car, or else, they drive away, but not really.” continued Emil, as if it made perfect sense. “He always comes back right away. It’s just a scare tactic so you guys don’t get into a car with a kidnapper.”

Leon failed to understand. “But you would know what your parents look like, right?”

“Huh.” Emil’s voice broke. “You have a point. A-Anyway, Lorie would be so proud of your restraint.” His hand clamped down on Leon’s shoulder, then drew back just as quickly. “But he’d probably not love us spending all day in a tech store. I’m gonna go ask a staff member for directions.”

When all was said and done, Leon and Emil came out of the shop with everything they needed to start a vlog: A reasonably priced camera, two cheap microphones, and batteries. They didn’t anticipate how difficult it would be to find the robot dog again after leaving him back on the shelf.

That didn’t stop them from buying him.

Leon held his new dog to the artificial sky while waiting for a crosswalk signal. “I think I’ll name him Cosmo, because he amazes me just like the cosmos.”

“Great choice! It’s catchy. Can I take a picture of him?”

“Sure thing!” He presented Cosmo to Emil’s phone.

“The group chat’s gonna go wild for this. Actually, maybe we should wait and send a video of him dancing. What do you think?” Emil showed his phone to Leon.

“I like the video idea. Maybe Cosmo can be in the vlog!”

“Ooooh, I like that, I like that.”

The phone screen took Leon by surprise. “Hm?”

“What’s up?”

While Cosmo’s picture was highlighted, he still saw the rest of Emil’s gallery photos in the background. There weren’t many. The most visible ones didn’t contain him at all. “Did you just get this phone? There’s almost no pictures.”

The crossing light changed before Emil could answer right away, but he did so during the walk. “Oh yeah, I’m not really much of a selfie taker. Most of the ones I do take, I delete.”

“What?? No way!” Leon’s eyes nearly leaped from his head. “I’d be taking selfies every day if I were you!”

That got a laugh. “Believe me, I’d love to, but this kinda goes with why I don’t have any social media accounts. I dunno if you picked this up from the code word conversation, but me and Lorie’s dad raised us in a very specific way. We moved around a lot.”

“Oh yeah, you guys probably had to do that because of your dad’s job, hm?” Leon heard that military kids had to move a lot. That had to have been hard. “Did you have to change schools a lot?”

“Funny thing! We lucked outta that, but Dad felt like it was, uh, not good for us to stay in one living place for too long, or leave many traces of our existence. You never know who’s watching.”

Leon cocked his head. “Why would anyone be watching?”

“That’s what I’m saying!” Emil spread out his hands. “Most of the time. But yeah, this extended to a lot of things. He worried people could track us through social media. We were told to stay out of pictures–Mom’s the only one who’s allowed to take pictures of us–’cause Dad doesn’t want the wrong people getting them.”

“What wrong people?”

“Kidnappers, assassins, that kind of thing.”

It took Leon a moment to realize Emil wasn’t joking. “That sounds,” his response didn’t come easily, “intense. Is that why you don’t take many selfies?”

“Sorta.” Emil waved a hand nonchalantly. “I never really believed in any of that stuff, but Dad made sure we fell in line. He kept a watchful eye on us when he could. I’m preeetty sure he wouldn’t go so far as to track our phone and computer history. I don’t know if he even knows how. But that’s the thing; I don’t know. And I never wanted to find out the wrong way.”

“Gosh, Emil, I didn’t know that.”

“You’re not supposed to~” He lifted his sunglasses to wink. “But I’m not perfect with it. I know I’ve been in a few group photos. He hasn’t found out yet, so maybe I’m probably fine?”

Leon thought back to the group selfie he took with Emil in it. “So, uh, how mad do you think he would be if he found out you were in one?”

Emil shrugged. “Eh, he’s chilled out a lot over the past coupla years.”

“That’s good! Does that mean he won’t be mad, or…?”

“Dooon’t worry about it! I’m 18. It’s high time I start taking more control over my life! Dad and Lorie can’t hold my hand forever.”

“That’s the spirit!”

“Of course if it were up to Lorie, he’d be holding my hand now. He tried to during middle school and I had to tell him to knock it off. Good thing Dad took my side on that one. People were staring.” Emil shrunk into his collar.

“Oh wow, really? I got to stop holding Angelo’s hand when he was eight or nine, and our parents used to be super worried about him getting scooped up by someone.” Leon reminisced. “Or maybe the normal amount of worried. He’s always been pretty easy to lift. I didn’t know you got embarrassed that easily, though.”

“Easily emb–??” Emil lifted up his glasses to stare at Leon. “Two guys holding hands in middle school? C’mon, you know what people were gonna think!”

“Ohhhh!” Leon had an idea. “I get it. But you’re brothers. I’m pretty sure I’ve grabbed Ángie’s hand a few times around that age and there weren’t any problems. Other than people mistaking him for a girl. I never understood that.”

“Yeah, I’m not taking chances.” Emil shook his head. Suddenly, he smiled. “That is something I’ve noticed about you, though. You don’t seem like you feel a need to keep up appearances for anybody.”

Leon laughed. “People have told me I’m not very good at it. I guess I can’t help being me!”

Emil joined him. “I’m so glad you can’t.”

The concrete and glass high rises that lined the sidewalk soon gave way to an open plaza, one that grew more familiar to Leon the closer he got.

“Wait! I’ve seen this place on TV! This is Legard Plaza, isn’t it?”

“It sure is.” Emil cheesed. “I figured it’d be a good place to start our vlog. Real picturesque with the greenery all around, the statues, and of course, the fountain.”

“Eight Phases Fountain!” Leon hurried ahead to get a closer look.

Gentle waves rippled over a wide, shallow surface. On top of the stone perimeter laid a ring of metal engraved with intricate wave patterns. Leon longed to stick his hand inside the massive water ball at its center, even though he knew it was an illusion made by the fountain running over glass.

“Can you hand me the camera and stuff?” asked Emil.

“Oh, sure.”

Leon handed over Cosmo so he could open his backpack on a nearby bench. Once he placed down the vlogging equipment, Emil busied himself unboxing everything. That left him more time to marvel at the fountain from every angle.

“You probably know this already, but that’s the Earth!” His hand pointed at the water ball, then moved toward the smaller spheres suspended around the ring. “And those are the Moon’s phases.”

“They sure are! Here’s your mic, by the way.” Emil held up an earpiece.

Leon took it. “ I wouldn’t even say I’m a guy who knows about art, but there’s so much I can say about this–this masterpiece!”

“And you know who else would love to hear it?” The newly unboxed camera pointed toward him.

“Great idea!”

“There should be a button on your earpiece to hook it up to the camera.” Emil advised. “Also here’s your backpack. Cosmo’s in there, safe and sound.”

“Thanks.” Leon put it on, then pressed a button on his earpiece. “Is it on?”

“Looks like it. You ready?”

“Ready as ever!” He gave a thumbs up.

“Three, two, one, and…”

“Hello, internet, or whoever is watching. I dunno.” Leon waved. “I’m Lunar, and I’m here at Legard Plaza for the first time in my entire life! Behind me is the Eight Phases Fountain.” He couldn’t help taking a look at it. “It’s super pretty. I really can’t believe how much more beautiful it is in person.”

Emil gave him a thumbs up from behind the camera.

“As you probably know, the Eight Phases Fountain is named after the phases of the moon around the outer rim,” he backed up toward the front of the fountain, “like this new moon here.” His hand motioned to a sphere of metal just above his head. “It’s made completely out of–is that gold, or bronze, or what?”

“I dunno, I’m just the camera guy.”

“And I’m a space guy, not a metal guy. We have a friend who’s into metal–the music, not the material. Anyway! In the back,” he pointed up high, “all the way up there is a big lamp representing the full moon. And the rest of the crescents and half moons are made up of a combination of that metal stuff and lamps, which is super cool!”

Emil lifted the camera toward all of the phases.

“What people might not realize is that the way they’re all arranged in that oval shape–it’s a little easier to see from the side–”

Both walked over to a different position.

“That oval shape matches the orbit of the Moon around Earth, which is represented by that big beautiful water marble in the middle. I didn’t understand at first why there’s waves on this part here,” Leon pointed toward the metal ring, and Emil’s camera followed, “but I just remembered that the Moon affects the tides.”

“Wow, this artist really thought of everything, huh?”

“I know, right? If only I could remember who made it.” He turned around to gaze into the fountain. “Hm?”

“What, is there somethin’ in the water?”

“Just coins but,” Leon beckoned the camera closer, “do you see that? The bottom is dark blue. When the light hits them, it kinda looks like stars.”

“...You’re right. Was that done on purpose?”

“Wow!” He and the camera faced each other. “This artist really did think of everything! Aww man, now I really wish I could remember them. Artist person, whoever you are, if you’re watching… I love you? You have such a big brain! Thank you for using it to make this wonderful fountain!”

An idea popped into his head and soon, a coin popped out of his wallet.

“I should make a wish! I wish…” Leon mulled over it for a moment. The rockiness of the past few weeks came to mind, but he couldn’t exactly give the specifics on camera. “I wish that everything will turn out okay.” His penny splashed into the water. He offered another to Emil. “Here, you can make a wish if you want.”

“Are you talking to the viewers?”

“No, I mean you.” Leon then addressed the camera. “Sorry, it’s not like you guys can actually throw it in the fountain.” Another idea struck him. “In fact, why don’t you be on camera for it? You can have my mic!”

Emil hesitantly took the coin and earpiece. He visibly went back and forth over something before putting the latter on his left ear. Finally, he handed Leon the camera and flashed his brightest smile. “Hey there, space cadets! I’m the E-Clipse of Lunar E-Clipse, and today, I’m gonna make a wish live on camera.”

“See? You’re a natural!” Leon couldn’t believe how quickly that came to him. “The camera loves you.”

As if on cue, Emil struck few poses. He did so as a joke, but his charm was anything but fake.

“If anyone’s wondering, he’s single, somehow.”

He broke into laughter. “Remind me to call you if I ever need a wingman. Let’s seeee.” he considered the coin in his hand, “What am I gonna wish for after you wished the mother of all wishes?” After a few moments, his hand closed. “I got it. Do I gotta say it on camera?”

“You don’t have to.”

“Cool. Sorry, this one’s my secret.” Emil skipped his penny far into the fountain.

“Woah, great arm!”

“Thanks, Lun. And that’s it for my wish.” He clapped his hands and swung them aimlessly. “Uhhh, so you got anything else you wanna say?”

Leon’s mind drew a blank. “I was just going to look at the fountain some more, but I didn’t have anything in particular I wanted to say. What do we do now?”

“Sign off, I guess.”

“How?”

“Let me think.” Emil turned around to think, then turned back. “Maybe you can be like ‘I’m Lunar,’ and I go ‘I’m E-Clipse,’ and we can both chime in with ‘and we’re signing off. See you next time!’ Somethin’ simple. And we’ll just cut me explaining all this in post.”

“Yeah, yeah, that sounds great.”

The two signed off exactly as Emil described, then sat back down on the bench to watch the replay.

Emil whistled. “Look at you! You improved so much from that first video. This looks like a real vlog.”

“It helped having something specific to talk about.” Leon laughed it off. “What was your wish by the way, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“No, I’m fine telling you. My wish was…” He took a moment to watch people nearby. His voice lowered. “I wanna not hafta hide as much anymore.”

“Oh.” He never struck Leon as the type to hide much. The stuff he told him earlier came as a surprise, though, so maybe he meant that. “Well, you don’t have to hide around me.” Leon tried to rest a hand on his back, but Emil just happened to walk a few steps away before it connected. “Whoops.”

“Sorry, I had to check somethin’ on my phone.” Emil paced around while typing.

“That’s okay.”

He gave the phone to Leon. “Hey, check this.”

His phone showed a text sent from his phone to Leon’s that read ‘Sorry if I’m a little cagey about touch between me and other guys in public. I know you were just trying to be a friend. Prying eyes might get a different impression. Also I gotta thank Ange for this trick.’

“Oh wow, I didn’t realize. Sorry about that.” Leon awkwardly folded his hands in his lap.

“It’s cool. You were prolly fine, I’m just, ehhh,” Emil wiggled his hands. He gave Leon a reassuring smile. “I’m glad you get to be you.”

“I hope you get to be you, too.”