"THE reaction to your surprise appearances at the viewing parties has been incredibly positive," Ellis said, scrolling through posts and comnts about Astrid and [Serendipitous Sumr] on [Cyberspace]. "Most people are saying they've never seen an actor put this much effort into fan service before."
Of course, there were a few negative comnts too—people claiming Astrid was trying too hard or cheapening his image—but they were far outnumbered by the positive ones. Ellis didn't pay them much mind. In her opinion, an actor who genuinely cared about their fans was always better off. After all, no actor could succeed without fan support. Showing gratitude mattered.
These days, that mindset wasn't as common anymore. But she was glad the artist she'd chosen when returning to the industry understood its value. That kind of respect would carry Astrid far.
"The box office of [Serendipitous Sumr] is also climbing steadily," she added. "Director Hale called last night to share the good news—the film has already broken even."
Astrid nodded. That ant the movie wouldn't be a flop. He'd been confident it wouldn't happen, but hearing the confirmation was still a relief—especially since this was his first lead role.
"I should probably post sothing later to thank everyone," he said.
Astrid, Ellis, and the rest of the Polaris staff were currently on a spaceship, returning to the capital. Now that the movie was out, he only had two or three promotion schedules left. After that, he'd have two weeks off before he needed to focus on filming [The Shadow Within].
Once filming began, he likely wouldn't have ti to return to school until the school year ended. Most colleges and universities in this era didn't have sester breaks—just nine straight months of classes followed by three months of vacation.
Since [The Shadow Within] would probably take over a month to film, attending classes regularly would be impossible. He might still have to show up on the last day, though, just for formality's sake.
With his spotty attendance, Astrid should be grateful Redwood counted industry jobs related to a student's major as completed course credits. That didn't an he got out of exams entirely, though—so subjects still required them.
Which, now that he thought about it, ant Redwood's finals would fall right in the middle of his two-week break.
He turned to the window, gazing out at the endless stretch of space. As the stars flickered in the distance, his mind drifted back to last night—to the conversation he'd had with Wulfric after dinner.
=====
Astrid found the entire dinner thoroughly satisfying. And that chocolate mousse at the end? Absolute perfection.
The earlier courses had already been good, so Astrid hadn't expected much from dessert. But Wulfric had sohow managed to impress him again. Now he couldn't help but wonder—just how many hours had the other spent in the kitchen to improve this much in only a few months?
Astrid sat by the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the city lights flicker below. Across the room, Wulfric cleared their dinner plates. He'd offered to help, but the other had refused—sothing about him being a "special guest" who shouldn't lift a finger.
It made him chuckle. Wulfric was a literal prince, after all. So, seeing him doing sothing so dostic was kind of novel. Then again, he'd already let the prince cook for him tonight. Letting him handle cleanup wasn't so strange in comparison.
"Do you want more wine?"
He glanced back at the sound of Wulfric's voice. The other had shed the black vest, his white sleeves now rolled up to the elbows, revealing toned forearms. His hair, no longer neatly slicked back, fell in its usual unruly waves—far more fitting for his wild, untad aura.
The sight made Astrid's breath catch, just for a mont.
Astrid shook off the mont and smiled playfully. "You're not trying to get drunk so you can have your way with , are you?"
"No!" Wulfric protested, sounding very indignant. "If I wanted to have my way with you, I'd make sure you were stone-cold sober and wide awake."
The second the words left his mouth, his entire face flushed crimson. As if it was only then that he realized what he just said.
Astrid blinked—then burst out laughing. "Well, I'd certainly hope so."
Wulfric's face burned even redder. He glanced away, suddenly finding the ceiling, the floor, anything but Astrid intensely interesting. After a beat, he stalked to the chair across from him and dropped into it.
After a mont of silence, Wulfric spoke again, steering the conversation away. "I want to apologize again for showing up at the viewing party unannounced. It won't happen again—I promise."
Astrid chuckled and let the subject change slide. He did say they would talk about it after dinner.
"It's not that I didn't want you there," he said. "I just didn't like how you were staring—like you were trying to burn a hole through . Since I didn't know it was you, I thought soone was planning to harm . And it gave a headache."
Guilt flickered across Wulfric's face. "Yeah. I didn't realize it would affect you like that."
Astrid's expression softened. "As I've said, you're already forgiven. Just next ti, send a heads-up if you're coming to one of my events." He paused, then added quietly, "And... thank you. For being here even with your busy schedule. The headache aside, it ant a lot."
Wulfric stared at him for a mont before breaking into a grin. "Can I ask for sothing?"
Astrid raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"A hug."
Astrid chuckled. Instead of answering, he stood and pulled Wulfric up. The other let himself be drawn in, and then Astrid wrapped his arms around him.
For a second, Wulfric froze—stiff as a board. Then, all at once, Astrid felt strong arms wrap around him, pulling him closer until there was no space left between them.
=====
Astrid caught himself smiling at the mory. Now that he was heading back to the capital and Wulfric to Alluna, he, surprisingly, already missed the other. He wondered when they would have another chance to et again.
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