TWs: Amnesia/Memory loss, mention of past death, past apathetic behavior, yelling/confrontation, crying, panicking, worrying. Stay safe :)
The atmosphere was still as everyone looked at Neptune.
The blue Celestial sensed the tenseness, looking back with a knitted expression. He gave a small titter, "Did I say something wrong again?"
"Y-You're joking with us... right?" Uranus asked.
Neptune pursed his lips, shaking his head.
Nine furrowed his eyebrows, scowling, "That damn black hole..."
Neptune averted his gaze, finally noticing the object in Uranus' grasp. He hummed, gesturing to it, "How's Wěi, by the way?"
"Oh, this isn't Wěi—It's Messier," Uranus said, handing the NovaStar to the other.
"Messier...? I thought I left you with Saturn." Neptune peered at the eight-pointed Star, eyes widening upon finding a small fracture, "Where'd you get this from...?"
"Saving you." Messier replied simply, "As I promised before."
Neptune's eyes flashed in remembrance.
"Well if it does get to me, then you have to promise me something."
"What is it...?"
"No matter what, you'll be the one to save me."
"And you kept it?" Neptune whispered.
"Of course."
Neptune smiled softly, bringing the NovaStar close to him, "Thank you..."
In the Ethereal, Messier felt warmth for the first time since he went Supernova.
Nine glanced at Uranus, making a few hand gestures. The cyan Celestial nodded once he realized what the white Celestial was signing.
"Hey, Neptune?" A gruff voice spoke.
The Celestial turned to his largest moon, eyes filling with panic, "Oh, Triton! I don't remember what happened, but despite what I might've said to you and the others, it's not-"
Triton cut him off, shaking his head, "I know, but that's not what I wanted to talk about."
Neptune frowned, tilting his head as he looked at the other curiously, "Then... what is it, Triton?"
Triton seemed hesitant, averting his gaze to the other moons. He pursed his lips, biting on his lower lip. He let out a small sigh, turning to Neptune with furrowed, twitching eyebrows, "Do you... blame me?"
Neptune's eyes widened, not expecting the question to come from his most level-headed moon. He laughed, though it sounded more like a cough, "What makes you believe that, Triton?"
"...Okay, I know I said we weren't going to talk about what you said, but it was something you said." Triton spoke, never meeting Neptune's eyes, "About Acis, Venilia, and Canens."
Neptune knitted his brows worriedly, silently knowing what Triton was getting at, "Oh..."
"You chose to ignore the problem, you never acknowledged the deaths of your moons and every time I tried to pry about it, you played it off as if it was nothing- as if your past moons never existed in the first place!" Triton's voice raised at the end as he finally forced himself to look at Neptune, his eyes blazing behind the sunglasses he wore, "You couldn't even look at me for millions of years and that only changed because the other moons came along!"
Neptune shifted backward, feeling as if he had just been pierced through his core with dozens of arrows. His eyes twitched as he made a strained expression. Reluctantly, he glanced at his smaller moons.
He had never seen them more terrified than that moment. They looked at him as if he were someone they didn't know or recognize- as if he were some kind of monster.
Guilt clawed its way into his chest, effectively squeezing around his core, digging into it like a black hole ripping itself from the inside out.
He looked to his smallest moon.
Tears escaped Hippocamp's eyes as he looked at Neptune. He turned away from his parent Celestial, hiding his face in Thalassa's coat.
Of course...
Neptune forgot to mention how apathetic he acted after his past moons died.
Uranus placed a hand on Neptune's shoulder, looking at him with trepidation.
Great, even his cousin feared him.
"You okay, mate?" Uranus questioned.
Neptune quirked an eyebrow. It didn't make sense for Uranus to still be nice to him- not after everything he did.
"Perhaps it's because he cares about you," Messier spoke.
Neptune's breath hitched, nearly forgetting that Messier had been returned to him, 'You think so...?'
"I know so." Messier spoke with determination, "You may not remember the reason now, and you may never will... but we cannot change the past, Neptune. It has been said, it has been done. We can only look forward to the future, re-writing past wrongs in order to better it."
'Right...' Neptune nodded, 'I understand what I must do.'
"Good."
'And Messier?'
"Yes, Neptune?"
'Thank you- for everything. I couldn't have done any of this without you.'
"...You're welcome."
"I'm fine, Uranus... thanks for the concern though." Neptune finally spoke, his voice sounding calm despite the chaotic thoughts that swirled in his head like a tornado. He looked at Triton and, to everyone's surprise, smiled, "You're completely right, Triton."
Triton tensed, his hands balling up into fists as his face scrunched up in distress, hurt by the response of his planet.
"But I don't blame you." Neptune continued, prompting Triton's face to shift into one of shock, "I never did."
Triton opened and closed his mouth, "B-But- th-then why were you so-"
"I blame myself." Neptune replied, his dark and stormy eyes showcasing a faraway look, "It was my fault that I pulled you into my gravity... I didn't notice until it was too late. I was careless back then, and still am today. As for acting like I didn't care... I truly didn't care."
The small moons gasped, gaping at their planet with all sorts of scared and anxious expressions.
"It was... normalized to treat moons as if they were nothing compared to planets." Neptune's face scrunched in disgust, "I only just realized how much they meant to me thousands of years later... when I had a conversation with Nine."
Neptune glanced Nine's way. The white Celestial nodded curtly; a silent acknowledgment.
"He had always treated his moons with respect and I wanted to know why- everyone else treated their moons poorly, so what could be so special about these moons?" Neptune shook his head, "No... it's not about how 'special' a celestial object is- it's not about their composition, their size, or how far away they are from their parent planet."
Neptune turned to his moons, eyes watering, "It's not about any of that... no, it's about how we balance each other out, how moons stabilize their planet's climate, how they can control the length of our days, and how they provide clues for habitability! They serve as geological time capsules, recording our solar system's history with impact craters, ice deposits, and cooled lava landforms! Without moons, there would be more asteroid impacts, our days would be shorter, our temperatures would change drastically, and our tilts as well! Without moons, we would be nothing..."
Neptune sniffled, trying to wipe the tears away, "I-It wasn't until I was isolated for 165 years after the fact that I truly understood how much I longed to hear their voices again... only to realize that I'll never see them again."
The blue Celestial looked up, gazing at Triton with grieving eyes. Triton gulped, finding himself not able to look away.
"So, no, Triton, I don't blame you. I never did." Neptune smiled, his lips quivering. He blinked, unable to stop the tears from flowing as a sob wrenched its way out of his mouth.
Hippocamp was the first to push his way to his planet, arms spread open as he grasped onto him, nuzzling into his sweater. He felt water dripping on his head, choosing to ignore it in favor of trying to help his planet.
Uranus was the second to snap out of his daze, reaching forward to wrap his arms around Neptune, "It'll be okay, mate... I got you."
The other moons joined the group hug, half of them crying freely as they latched themselves onto the Celestial.
Triton seemed hesitant, limbs shaking as he shifted forward. Slowly, he hugged the side of Neptune's face, closing his eyes as small tears fell.
Nine crossed his arms, choosing to look away from the group. Instead, he focused his attention on the Kuiper Belt, reminiscing about a time that once was.
« × »
Sun and Toliman floated there in the Etheralink, staring at the void that stretched out before them. A few pieces of glowing threads could be seen scattered around, linking to other Stars and Celestial bodies. Everyone else was long gone, already having wished the Sun good luck on what might happen within the coming days.
Now, it was silent, the only sound heard was the dull roars coming from within the two Stars.
Toliman glanced over at the Sun, a questioning look on his face, "You're quiet today."
"Huh?" Sun perked up, looking at his friend, "What do you mean?"
"You hate being silent, you always have to make some kind of noise- usually humming or talking to yourself, but... you're not." Toliman explained, "What's going on through that head of yours, Sol?"
Sun sighed, "I wish I knew... I know Arcturus said M87 would talk to Sagittarius A* and that everything would probably be okay, but..."
"You're worried that everything won't be okay."
"Exactly! That bastard black hole is the least of my problems because even after its confrontation with M87, things still won't be okay!" Sun waved his arms around as he faced Toliman, "I still have to make sure my planets are fine and that they don't kill each other over things that happened billions of years ago! It's ridiculous; you'd think they'd learn to communicate, but no! I have no choice but to do it for them! All of the secrets, all of the lies they told me... it makes me want to kill them myself!"
Toliman let the other rant, watching him pace back and forth.
"I can't..." Sun dropped his head in his hands, letting out an exasperated whine, "It's hard to hate them when they give you unconditional support that you don't deserve..."
The orange Star shifted forward, pulling the other into an embrace.
Sun lowered his head onto the other's shoulder, closing his eyes as hot firey tears fell. His voice was quiet as he whispered, "I just can't hate them... not when I've made more mistakes."
Toliman creased his brows, holding the yellow Star close to his chest. Slowly, he started running his fingers through the other's hair.
Sun sighed, relaxing for the first time in billions of years, "Thank you, Toli..."
"Anything for you, Sol."
After a few moments of silence, Sun sighed, starting to pull away, "I should probably check on them..."
Toliman nodded, yet didn't let go of the other's hands.
"Uh... that requires you to let go," Sun spoke, tittering.
Toliman dropped his hands, not meeting the other's gaze, "Before you go, though, I have something to give you."
"Another gift?" Sun raised an eyebrow, "I already loved the purified Asterium charm you gave me."
"I know, however... I would say this is better." Toliman cusped his hands together, focusing all his energy on the palms of his hands. Sun watched in astonishment as an orange flame fabricated itself within seconds, the fire dancing as it crackled silently.
"Is that...?" Sun uttered.
"My flame." Toliman said simply, "I want you to have it."
Red flames rose to the surface of the Sun as he looked at the other with eyes as wide as saucers.
"And... you're giving your flame to Toliman? Isn't there a thing about Stars and only giving their flames as a sign of courtship?"
Mercury's words echoed in his head on repeat. He opened his mouth, strangled noises slipping out as he fought for what to say, "I- uhm- wey-"
Toliman couldn't help but laugh, "Knowing you, Sol, you're taking this as a marriage proposal."
"Wha- eh- i-is it not?" Sun managed to squeak out.
"Giving another a flame can mean you want to court that someone, but... it can mean something else." There was a noticeable blush on Toliman's face as he spoke, "A promise."
Sun blinked, his surface still warmer than ever before as he gazed at the other, "P-Promise...?"
Toliman nodded, "I promise that no matter what, no matter if one of us dies or whether we're thousands of Astronomical Units away from each other... I'll always be there for you, by your side."
Subconsciously, Sun raised his hands, mesmerized by Toliman's words, his eyes sparkling with lava-like tears.
"I promise to love you until the very end... until space and time cease to exist."
Their hands met in the middle, interlacing their fingers. The orange fire glowed brightly until it scattered, the flames looping around Sun's hands, arms, and chest until it dissipated into his core. He shivered, raising a hand to his chest, and letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
"Really...?" Sun whispered, looking at Toliman with awe in his eyes.
Toliman nodded, smiling warmly, "Every word..."
Slowly, a grin rose on Sun's face, most of his sharp teeth presenting themselves. He pushed forward, practically jumping on the other. Toliman held him steady, flushing as his head was shoved into the Sun's chest.
The Sun had never felt happiness such as the way when he was with Toliman. Later he could worry all he wanted about his planets and system. For now, he would focus on the feeling of being loved and admired by one of the ones who truly understood him.
« NOTE »
I have a poll running in my Discord about what to call this AU :)
So far, Stellato is in the lead with Paramnesia in second place.
The poll ends in about 2 days, so get your votes in by joining the Discord (link in bio/profile)!
Comments are appreciated 3