#//cannot believe it took me until now to realize- sal is super interested in space and the stars

[troublewithvampires]

@oceanoecielo said: 💗 //wight on his wittle nosey wosey :3

(smooch his scars - open)

Salvatore has been lost in the science textbook open on the table before him for nearly ten minutes now, devouring every word on the page with a voraciousness he hasn't felt in a long time. Even if half the words on the page are nonsense to him, he doesn't mind the challenge in the slightest, a small, toothy smile spread across his face as he digs in.

It's incredible how much more the world has learned about space and the stars since he was thrown in a hole--every day he learns something new, and it's fucking amazing. There's just so much to learn, and he's more than happy to devour every morsel of knowledge that comes his way.

As absorbed in his reading as he is, Salvatore almost misses when Simon sits down across from him. Almost. As it stands, though, he nods in acknowledgment to the older man and offers him a brief smile before turning back to his book.

After a moment, Salvatore looks up at Simon, excited little grin still in place as he gestures with one clawed finger to the textbook before him.

"Have you seen some of the pictures that Hubble telescope shit got?" he asks. "Shit's fuckin' amazing. There's so much out there that most of us wouldn't ever get to see otherwise, and then this fuckin' telescope that some eggheads threw into space can take pictures and show 'em to us anyway." The awe in his voice is palpable as he looks down at the page again.

In the lull between his delighted ramblings, Salvatore doesn't notice Simon leaning forward until a few seconds too late, when he feels a pair of soft lips brush against the scars on his nose. Immediately, he's startled out of the haze of new information and looks up at the old man with wide eyes, his ears pinning back.

"Wh-" he splutters like an idiot. "What the fuck was that for?" Perhaps he should be upset by the sudden unprompted affection, but he's more just surprised than anything. All things considered, it wasn't unpleasant, but it was shocking nonetheless. "Jesus, you old fuck, haven't you learned about personal space by now?" The words have no real bite to them, no heat, as Salvatore struggles to school his expression into something more angry. It doesn't work.