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The day had been grueling, leaving most of the Toon cast exhausted beyond words. Countless supply runs, relentless searching for new evidence on the Twisteds—it had taken a toll on everyone. Some returned to the lobby with heavy steps, others barely able to keep their eyes open, and a few were covered in bandages from head to toe. The air was thick with fatigue, yet the work had been necessary. Despite the exhaustion that settled over the Gardenview Lobby like a heavy blanket, one Toon remained awake, lost in her own quiet world.
“Still awake?” a soft, almost sleepy voice drifted toward her.
Shelly looked up to see Astro standing a few feet away, his celestial form bathed in the ambient moonlight filtering through the lobby’s glass dome. He still wore his signature striped blue pajamas, and his nightcap drooped slightly to the side. His teal crescent-moon-shaped head tilted in quiet curiosity. His star-like eye seemed to glow even brighter during later hours, giving him an even more ethereal look.
“Astro?” Shelly blinked in surprise. “I, um, didn’t expect anyone else to be up this late.” She nervously replied, not really knowing what to say.
Astro hummed, rubbing his eye as if to wipe away an invisible dream. “I could say the same to you.” He glanced at her display. “You’ve been working on this for a while, haven’t you?”
Shelly’s blush deepened. “Oh, yes! I just… I got caught up in organizing. I found this beautiful ammonite the other day, and it made me want to showcase my best specimens.” She picked up a smooth, spiraled fossil, its ancient ridges glistening under the dim lights. “This one belonged to a creature from millions of years ago. Imagine the things it must have seen before it was buried under time itself.”
Astro knelt beside her, eyes reflecting the soft golden light of the fossil. “The past is fascinating,” he murmured. “Like the stars, in a way. Light takes so long to reach us that, when we look up at the night sky, we’re actually seeing the past.”
Shelly gasped slightly, then let out a breathless chuckle. “I never thought of it that way… That’s beautiful.”
A small smile ghosted over Astro’s face. “Your fossils are like stardust, then. Remnants of a time long gone, but still leaving their mark on the present.”
Shelly clutched the ammonite close to her chest, warmth spreading through her. She never knew that words could give such a strong, impactful feeling. “That’s… really poetic, Astro.”
He gave a light shrug. “I just think about things like that a lot.”
A comfortable silence stretched between them as Shelly reached for another fossil—a small, perfectly preserved fern. Astro, watching her hands move with delicate precision, reached forward and traced the edge of the fossil with his own fingertips.
“Do you ever wonder,” he asked softly, “if some things are meant to last forever?”
Shelly glanced at him, her expression thoughtful. “I think… some things last in different ways. Maybe not physically, but in stories, in memories, in the people who care about them.” She paused. “Kind of like how you watch the stars, even when they’re light-years away.”
Astro’s eyes flickered with quiet appreciation. “Maybe.”
He leaned back slightly, arms resting on his knees as he tilted his head toward the glass ceiling. “You know, I spend so much time looking up that sometimes I forget to look around. But you—you’re always looking back, searching for pieces of the past.”
Shelly tucked a loose curl behind her ear, considering his words. “I guess I just like knowing what came before. It makes the present feel… more connected, like we’re all just part of a much bigger story.”
Astro chuckled softly. “A never-ending one.”
She smiled. “Exactly.”
Another pause settled between them before Astro’s starry eye flicked toward her collection again. “Do you have a favorite?”
Shelly perked up instantly. “Oh! Yes!” She quickly rummaged through a small box before pulling out a fossilized fish imprint. “This one. It’s a Knightia, one of the most well-preserved fish fossils ever found. It lived during the Eocene epoch, which was about fifty million years ago!” She held it out to him, eyes gleaming with excitement.
Astro took it gently, examining the intricate details. “Fifty million years… That’s older than most stars we see in the sky.” He glanced at her, intrigued. “Why this one?”
Shelly hesitated, then admitted, “Because it’s small. People always focus on the big fossils—dinosaurs, mammoths, things that look impressive. But little things like this mattered, too. They were just as much a part of history.”
Astro smiled, his expression softer than usual. “Sounds like you.”
Shelly blinked, caught off guard. “W-What do you mean?”
“You always think you go unnoticed,” Astro murmured, placing the fossil back into her hands. “But you leave your mark in quiet ways. Just like these.”
Her cheeks turned warm again, but she didn’t look away this time. Instead, she smiled, pressing the fossil against her chest. “Thank you, Astro. That… really means a lot.”
The two sat in silence for a while longer, side by side as the stars twinkled above them. The night stretched on, peaceful and timeless, as if the universe itself had paused just for them.
And in that moment, Shelly knew—some things truly did last forever.