Spider watched the face pop up on the screen, along with information underneath.

"I was searching by name when I found her profile," Venus explained. She gazed longingly at the woman. "It's her ID when she was working for the RDA. Apparently, they haven't scrubbed it off yet."

The boy glanced over at her. Venus was hungry to learn about her mother, the fantastic genius. It was like an itch that needed to be scratched.

"She was radiant," there was a glint in her eyes as Venus whispered into the air. Her brown eyes, like the soil of the ground, dazzled in a way that made Spider mesmerized. He couldn't peel his gaze off her.

At his silence, Venus peered over to find his lost expression already staring back at her.

The butterflies of her stomach were back.

The girl shook off her momentary pause and went back to observing the profile of her mother. Celeste Oberon, deceased. It was like a punch in the gut to think about. She ignored the flustered boy next to her.

Spider reset his mind and pushed himself out of the moment. He had to shake off the way she made him breathless. "What's that?" He pointed to a file next to her name, furrowing his brows and getting the attention off of him.

Venus tilted her head and shrugged. "I don't know," she admitted, clicking on the file and watching as a series of videos popped up.

Celeste's video logs, the official ones, not just the archives.

Her breath hitched. A wave of fear rushed through her bones. The thought of watching a dead woman speak as if she were alive scared her. At least for a moment, Venus could pretend like her mother was still alive. Like Celeste Oberon's brain was still computing and her heart was still pumping blood.

Spider watched the reaction on the girl's face. "Are you okay?" He placed an apprehensive hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to watch this if you don't want to."

"No," Venus quickly denied. "I wanna see this. I do," she clicked the play button.

"This is, um, Celeste Oberon. Today is my first day on Pandora." She looked nervous, fiddling with her fingers in her lap. It reminded Spider of the girl next to him, who looked intently at the woman on the screen.

"I'm planning to do as much research as I can in the time I'm here, before I rotate back. I just, I didn't know that I would have this opportunity to come to the place I only dreamed of when I was younger, it doesn't feel real," she chuckled and ran a hand through her messy hair.

"I'm supposed to study the anthropology and botany of Pandora." The glint of fascination was back in her eyes. "But I don't know how I'm going to learn so much in my little time here. There are so many things I wanna start with, but I dunno."

A voice called out from the edge of the frame. "Doctor Oberon? I think you might want a tour of the lab."

Celeste turned her head away from the camera. "Give me just a sec to wrap this up, okay Max?"

Venus's eyes widened. She caught a glimpse of Max, who had looked younger and more vibrant than recent years. "Max?" She mumbled. Of course he knew her mother, but it seemed weird they truly talked to each other at some point.

"And I told you to not call me Doctor Oberon, it's too formal. My name is just Celeste." She turned back to the camera and readjusted the angle. "Well, I think I have to go now. I'll come back tomorrow with an update."

The screen turned black when she pressed a button.

Spider leaned his head over to see her face. "Vee?" He shook her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

She looked over at him, with her pretty brown eyes and a mind full of thoughts. "She was brilliant," she muttered. Tears formed in her eyes. "Why did she have to leave me?"

Spider embraced her with open arms as she leaned in and started sobbing. Thick tears ran down her face as the boy stroked a hand over her back. It was the only thing he could think to do in the moment. 

Venus was always a quiet and content girl. She felt happy with her nose in books, reading whatever had been left at Hell's Gate and brought to the camp in the mountains. She didn't show negative emotion on a daily basis. It was one of the perks of having needs met.

The last time Spider saw her cry was a month ago over something silly. This moment felt too intimate to be casual. At least, to him.

She kept her grip around him tight as she wept into his shoulder.

"She was," Venus pulled back and tried to wipe her tears. Spider raised his hand up and brushed them off with his thumb. She froze for a moment, gazing into his eyes, before composing herself once again. "She had potential. She would be here if she wasn't dead. She could have changed lives, Spider."

"I know," he assured. He brushed his thumb over the tight crease between her brows and sighed. "But she's gone. It's okay,"

Venus hiccupped and sniffled, letting her eyes fall to the ground. "Do you think, someday, I'll be able to fill in her shoes?" She peered up at him, a hopeful look on her face. 

Spider nodded without hesitation. "Yes, Vee, I do. You're brilliant." His hands rubbed up and down her arms.

"Really?"

He only smiled lightly, wishing he could kiss the doubtful look off her face and prove to her how incredible she was. Even if she didn't know her intelligence, she seemed greater when she didn't know her own worth.

"Always," he whispered. "Even when you don't believe in yourself, you still have me, Vee."

Venus threw herself into his embrace one more time, letting quiet sobs rack through her body.

Some hearts understand each other even in silence. 

ooo y'all are not ready for what i've had planned since the beginning of writing this book. also, i've become so demotivated to write, but i know i pushed through with eternal love, so i know i can at least get up this hill <3 <3