"That's Orion right there, Marsh. Do you see it?"

The sky was clear and uncloudy over that little hill near the mansion. The stars were out, glittering in the sky like thousands of fireflies above them. Even if Marsh strained really hard, she couldn't see or hear any fireflies, or crickets, or any other animals.

It was like how squinting didn't make the shape any easier to see. "No..."

"C'mon, it's right there! Ah well; guess it's no big deal." Apple put her hands behind herself. "That's pretty much the only one I know, anyway."

"Maybe we should buy a book about it; that way we could identify some constellations."

"...Is it weird that I feel like you've said that before?"

Marsh grinned nostalgically. "Not at all, dear."

It really was like a moment out of the past, physically speaking. But it felt different. It was more relaxed, less holy. The topics of conversation had been generally light.

'It's interesting,' Marsh thought. 'Have I changed so much as a person that I see what's essentially the same date differently, or is it just our relationship that's leagues different? Are they not mutually exclusive?'

Soon, Apple chuckled. "When you think about it, it's so weird that our thing is stargazing. Neither of us knows much of anything about stars."

"I guess that's true... I could watch paint dry as long as you were there, though."

It was a very Apple thing to say; it was strange to hear it in her own voice.

Apple beamed. "Awww! Am I really good company?"

"You are. Even better than Walmart."

"Nooo... You can't mean that! Walmart has everything; nothing beats Walmart. Walmart's your favorite place ever in the whole wide world!"

Marsh rubbed the back of her head. "I-I mean, it is, but you give me more warm-fuzzies than Walmart ever could, even during a sale."

Apple laughed. "Aww... You're so sweet. Not to mention romantic!" Apple rolled onto her side and looked at her. "You'll have to give me a minute to think of a reply that's as great as that one."

"Take your time."

'...Maybe I really am a romantic after all,' Marsh thought. 'I always wished I was above it all... But I guess it could be worse. Maybe love is just making me really soft. And giddy. And lots of things. Either way, it could be a lot worse.'

"I could be your personal Walmart," Apple started to say a few moments later. "I'll give you everything you want. At least, as much as I can. And you could be my personal dictionary!"

She gave Apple a strange look. "...What? Aren't dictionaries stuffy, boring, and hard to understand?"

"Nope. You're filled with, what's the word... ah yes, knowledge, and always teach me something new, even if it's not what I'm used to," Apple replied earnestly. "You're filled with fun. ...And honestly, the cover isn't bad either..."

Marsh blushed. "You're able to see the beauty in just about anything, aren't you?"

"Maybe." Apple sounded proud. "If you're my dictionary, you can show me the meaning behind every word."

"I can sure try."

Without warning, Apple rolled and propped herself up on top of Marsh, her arms on either side of her shoulders.She grinned cluelessly.

"Okey dokey! Teach me what love means."

Marsh's eyes stretched wide. Their eye contact never broke even as silence took form. Marsh's heart sped on overdrive.

"Heh... You want me to teach you what love means?"

"Yep."

Marsh thought for a few seconds. "Well, it's hard to explain... The best way I can say it is, it's what I feel every time I look at you nowadays. But there's more to it. A feeling is a noun. But anger and sadness are nouns.

"But love isn't just a noun. I don't only have a love for you, so to speak. It's also an adjective -- something you use to describe something else. I'm love-struck. When you're in love, it's a descriptor. It's even an adverb. I cook for you lovingly, and look at you lovingly too, when neither of us realizes it. At least, that's what I'd guess."

Marsh spared herself a moment to mentally smirk. Apple was staring at her in slack-jawed surprise.

Had Apple banked on a flustered response? Had she run the conversation through her head before bringing it up meaning to confess her own feelings, and got the surprise of her life?

"You might even think of it as a pronoun, something to replace a name. Love is something that helps you define a person, I think. B-but you know what, Love?"

Marsh didn't speak for one anticipation-filled second. Apple wasn't even breathing. Then she went on.

"...The kind of love I'm thinking of is a verb. Because I love you."

The romantic I love you was different from its familial cousin in speech. Uttered to family, it was careless, and the feeling had been fluffy and light.

Now, there was a bit of pain to it, actually, like it was an admission of guilt. It was cavernous, profound, exposed, almost overwhelming. Her heart pounded desperately.

It was no wonder they called it "giving your heart to someone." It felt exactly like that.

Apple stared at her with wonder for the longest time, jaw hanging. It might've been an eternity before she snickered, bumping the spaces above their eyes together. Breath ghosting on Marsh's lips, she murmured, "I can't believe you just said that."

"Y-you don't have a problem with it, do you?"

"Never with you, Marshmallow. Never..."

Marsh sought to memorize the unhurried moment. Apple's breath on her lips, the sound of her own pulse rushing, the softness of the blanket below them. The way Apple stared at her like she was some great treasure, how she felt her own smile grow incredibly sentimental.

Was that her imagination, or was there even the call of a real, live owl in the distance?

But still, she could feel tears forming in her eyes. It hurt. "Well... um, do you have anything you forgot to say?"

Apple pulled back far enough that Marsh could see her grin. "...I can't believe you said it! I..." A giggle. "I feel all tingly right now!"

"Apple..."

She thought for a moment. Then she said, voice hardly above a whisper, "Oh! I, um, I love you too..."

When Apple leaned down just a little bit to plant a kiss on Marsh's lips, Marsh shut her eyes and cupped her face. Everything felt warm like a fireplace on Christmas evening, from her chest to her face to the embrace of their lips.

The cavern in her chest was suddenly filled to the brim with something greater, something powerful enough to be foreign but somehow oh, so familiar. It was that feeling that Marsh focused on.

Romantic love was something... but reciprocated romantic love? Incredible.

They parted after a few seconds with a soft pop, staring at one another once more as if with new eyes. Soon, Apple laid beside her, still staring into her eyes, hands still encasing Marsh's.

"Do you understand now, dear?"

"Yeah. It's hard to put into words."

"Maybe it's one of those things that can't be fully expressed without feeling it for yourself," Marsh mused. "Words have limits."

"Or," Apple suggested, "maybe we just need keep learning lessons about love and words so we can find them."

"I-I don't think you understand. Great poets have tried to put love into words and failed. We're just two kids with too much time on our hands."

"It's worth a try."

'How much longer will we be learning to be able to do that? How long will this even last?'

'Forever.'

It startled her a little to think of it. Forever with Apple. Forever having someone by her side to confide in and match her stride, to bake for and be there for. To build a home with and never feel alone with.

'Maybe that's just unrealistic. Maybe I'm too young to truly know. I'm too young to say for sure that this is what I want. ...But, if there's ever going to be a chance of making this last...'

Her smile became sad. "Apple?"

"Yep?"

Marsh hesitated. "If we're ever going to find the words to describe love, we'll be together for a while. And there are certain... well, things that I need to confront. I have memories and feelings that aren't pleasant... but part of what love means to me, at least, is having someone to face them with." Marsh gulped.

"And what I wanted to ask was... um..."

Apple was staring expectantly at her, face solemn. Marsh laughed dryly at her own inhibition. "I'm bad at this."

"Way I see it, there's nothing to ask," Apple replied. "I always wanted to help you out, from the start. You're really gonna let me in?"

"It's unavoidable at this point."

"You almost sound like you don't want to... But y'know what, I'll ignore that little detail. It's an honor to get into that pretty head of yours a little." Apple winked. "Just tell me when you need me and I'll be there for ya, okay?"

Marsh hummed.

No promises... but maybe just putting it out there was the first step on two important, long-term journeys: the quest to define love, and the quest to find some way to make the dark thoughts stop.

'And, come to think of it... there's another journey underlying all this.'

Marsh curled up beside Apple some time later, tangling their limbs together and feeling the tension leave her body.

'It's also a journey of making the most out of this life: past, present, and future. Today begins the rest of my life.'

That night, she fell asleep in Apple's arms. With luck, maybe she would never leave.