Beneath the Same Blue Sky

The air between them felt different now.

For months, Caesar and Blythe had danced around the feelings they refused to name, existing in that delicate space between friendship and something more. But now, there was no uncertainty, no question left hanging in the air. She had said yes.

And yet, as they sat together in the cafeteria the next day, the weight of that new reality settled between them.

Blythe leaned her chin on her palm, watching Caesar stir his soup absentmindedly. "You've been spacing out for the past ten minutes," she teased. "Regretting it already?"

Caesar blinked, snapping out of his thoughts. "Huh?"

"Our relationship, dummy," Blythe smirked. "Are you regretting asking me out?"

Caesar nearly choked on his soup. "W-What? No!" He shook his head furiously, ears tinged pink. "Why would I—?"

Blythe burst into laughter, reaching over to nudge his arm. "Relax, I'm just messing with you."

Caesar groaned, burying his face in his hands. "You're evil."

She grinned. "And you love it."

The words hung between them for a moment before Blythe quickly realized what she had said. Her smirk faltered slightly, and she immediately stuffed a spoonful of rice into her mouth to keep herself from saying anything more embarrassing.

Caesar, equally flustered, cleared his throat and pushed his glasses up. He didn't know how to respond to that. He wasn't used to this—this warmth, this lightheartedness that came with being in a relationship.

It had only been a day, and yet, everything felt… new.

---

Over the next week, they adjusted to their new relationship in different ways.

Blythe was as comfortable as ever. She was used to affection, and she didn't shy away from holding Caesar's hand in the hallway or leaning against his shoulder while they studied. For her, nothing had really changed—except now, she had a valid excuse to tease him even more.

Caesar, on the other hand, was still figuring it out. He wasn't used to this kind of attention, nor did he know the proper "boyfriend protocol."

On the second day of their relationship, he had spent an embarrassing amount of time researching "how to be a good boyfriend" on the internet. (He later regretted this decision when he found himself in an endless rabbit hole of ridiculous dating advice.)

He wanted to do things right, but what did that even mean? Did he need to start giving her gifts? Compliment her more? Plan fancy dates?

He had always assumed relationships were complicated, but the sheer pressure of it all made his head spin.

Blythe, of course, caught on to his overthinking immediately.

"You're being weird," she said one afternoon as they sat under their usual tree in the schoolyard.

Caesar nearly dropped the book he was holding. "I-I am?"

Blythe squinted at him. "Yeah. You're overthinking again."

Caesar sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I just… I don't want to mess this up."

Blythe softened. "Caesar, you're not going to mess this up."

"I don't know that."

"Well, I do." She tilted her head, smiling. "You think too much. A relationship isn't about doing things 'right' all the time. Just be yourself."

Caesar frowned. "But what if—"

Blythe cut him off by poking his forehead. "No more 'what ifs.' You're my boyfriend. That means I like you. And I like you exactly the way you are."

Caesar stared at her, processing her words.

Then, finally, he let out a small chuckle, shaking his head. "How do you always know what to say?"

Blythe shrugged. "I'm just cool like that."

He laughed, and for the first time since they started dating, he felt like he could breathe.

---

By the time the weekend arrived, Caesar finally decided he wanted to take Blythe on an actual date. Nothing fancy—just something simple, something that fit them.

They ended up at a small bookstore café in town. It was quiet, cozy, and filled with the scent of coffee and old pages.

Blythe ran her fingers along the spines of the books, eyes sparkling with interest. "This place is nice," she admitted. "How did you find it?"

Caesar, standing beside her, glanced away. "I come here a lot."

Blythe raised an eyebrow. "Alone?"

"…Yeah."

She smiled. "That's so you."

They wandered through the aisles, talking about everything and nothing. At one point, Blythe picked up a book and opened it at random, reading dramatically in a deep, theatrical voice.

"'The wind howled against the midnight sky, whispering secrets only the lost could understand…'"

Caesar tried (and failed) to hold back a laugh. "What even is that?"

"I have no idea," Blythe admitted, flipping the book over to read the synopsis. "But it sounds unnecessarily dramatic."

She continued flipping through pages, and at some point, she caught Caesar staring at her.

"What?" she asked.

Caesar hesitated before shaking his head. "Nothing."

But it wasn't nothing.

It was the way the soft light caught in her platinum blonde hair. It was the way her blue eyes shone with curiosity and mischief. It was the way she looked at books like they held entire worlds inside them.

It was her.

And in that moment, he realized something.

He wasn't just glad she had said yes.

He was lucky she had said yes.

---

As they walked home together that evening, Blythe suddenly stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and looked up.

"The sky's so blue today," she murmured.

Caesar followed her gaze. It was a deep, endless shade of blue, stretching far beyond what the eye could see.

"Yeah," he agreed. "It is."

Blythe smiled, turning to him. "You know, I've always wondered… why do you stare at the sky so much?"

Caesar hesitated.

He had never told her this before.

But for some reason, tonight, he wanted to.

"…My dad used to tell me that blue meant peace," he said quietly. "Whenever I was scared or anxious, he'd tell me to look at the sky. He'd say that as long as it was blue, everything would be okay."

Blythe's expression softened. "That's beautiful."

Caesar nodded, staring at the sky once more. "After he passed away, I started looking up more often. Maybe it was my way of trying to find him again."

Blythe didn't say anything right away. Instead, she reached out and took his hand, squeezing it gently.

Caesar looked at her, surprised.

"You're not alone, you know," she whispered.

A lump formed in his throat.

He knew that now.

Maybe he had known it for a while.

But standing there, beneath the same blue sky his father once pointed to, with Blythe's hand in his… it felt more real than ever.

He squeezed back. "I know."

And in that moment, everything felt right.