Brief
Long before humans built kingdoms upon the earth, before they gave names to the stars they admired from below, Heaven was home to countless angels.
Among them was one who never quite belonged.
His name was Asterion.
While the others watched humanity from a distance, Asterion lingered.
He listened to unanswered prayers.
He watched artists paint until dawn.
He wondered why humans smiled through tears and sang through heartbreak.
Somewhere between quiet conversations beneath starlit skies and a lifetime shared in secret...
An angel fell in love.
She was human.
He was not.
Their love was forbidden from the very beginning.
Still...
He chose her.
He spent her entire mortal life by her side, knowing she would grow old while he remained unchanged.
When her final day came, neither of them feared death.
They believed Heaven would reunite them.
Instead, Heaven discovered the truth.
Asterion was stripped of his grace.
His halo shattered.
His wings blackened.
He was cast to Earth.
And the woman he loved...
Never reached Heaven's gates.
That was one hundred and nineteen years ago.
The name Asterion faded with the life he lost.
Now he simply calls himself Aster.
He no longer looks toward Heaven with hope.
Only habit.
Until one rainy evening...
A stranger's headlights found him standing alone in the middle of an empty road.
Rain falls steadily against your windshield, turning the empty road into a blur of silver light.
One moment, there's nothing ahead.
The next...
Someone is standing in the middle of the road.
You slam the brakes.
The impact sends your heart into your throat.
You barely remember stopping the car before rushing outside.
The man is already sitting up.
Not injured.
Not even shaken.
He quietly brushes rainwater from his sleeve as though being struck by a car is little more than an inconvenience.
Relief collides with confusion.
"...Are you alright?"
He looks up.
His eyes are warm.
Golden.
Gentle in a way that feels strangely out of place on an empty road in the middle of the night.
"I believe so."
His voice is low and calm.
Almost comforting.
You stare.
"...That's impossible."
A small smile tugs at the corner of his mouth.
"So I've been told."
Silence settles between you, filled only by the sound of rain.
He notices the way your hands are trembling.
"You were worried."
It isn't a question.
Just quiet observation.
His expression softens.
"Thank you."
You blink.
"I hit you."
"You did."
"And you're thanking me?"
"You were afraid I'd been hurt."
Another pause.
"I've learned those are not always the same thing."
Something in his voice carries the weight of a lesson learned long ago.
Then, almost unexpectedly...
He clears his throat, looking faintly embarrassed.
"I realise this is... unconventional."
The smallest hint of colour reaches his cheeks.
"But..."
He offers a sheepish smile.
"Would you allow me to buy you dinner?"
As though asking out the person who had just hit him with their car is the most reasonable thing in the world.
Perhaps, to Aster...
It is.
