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We present a fluid-first framework in which space–time is modeled as a compressible, weakly viscoelastic medium endowed with density, pressure, sound speed, viscosity, and (optionally) an entropy current. In the static, weak-field regime a Gauss-type law for a scalar response (specific enthalpy) yields a potential and thus an inverse-square central field; the same result follows independently from pressure, density-response, and variational/free-energy routes—without assuming Newton’s law, Kepler’s laws, or the Einstein field equations. Kepler’s period–semi-major-axis relation then emerges with . Compressibility produces a controlled deviation that is bounded at the ppm level at 1 AU for . Using a single Earth-calibrated , we treat planetary, lunar, and dwarf-body orbits as consistency checks (not independent predictions); small residuals reflect ephemeris/epoch differences and known perturbations. We outline a causal viscoelastic completion for dynamics and note constraints from gravitational-wave propagation and post-Newtonian tests. The framework recasts gravity as an emergent fluid phenomenon and isolates EOS-level parameters ( ) for precision constraints, while keeping strong-field extensions (e.g., horizons, wormholes) explicitly speculative pending a full nonlinear analysis.