TWs: Brief swearing (heheh), overprotective behavior, brief lying, second-hand embarrassment. Stay safe :)

"Ugh...!" Uranus huffed annoyed as he searched through the asteroid belt, "It can't be that hard to find a giant notebook, can it?"

"Uh- watcha doing there, Uranus?" Jupiter raised an eyebrow as he watched his friend force asteroids out of his way.

"Searching for my dia- journal! I've been looking for ages, but come up empty each time... it's probably out of the dang solar system 'bout now." Uranus frowned.

"Huh. I thought I saw Earth and his moon with a large book earlier. Maybe they have it?" Jupiter speculated.

"Ah, tha- wait, d-did you say Earth?" Uranus did a double take, a petrified look on his sphere.

"Uh, yeah...?"

'...Well, fuck me in the anus.' Uranus cursed under his breath, 'The Earth probably knows by now, and he most likely thinks of me as some sort of freak- scratch that, he definitely thinks of me as a freak! Ugh, what is wrong with me!?'

Jupiter must've seen the inner turmoil Uranus inflicted upon himself because he moved forward cautiously and placed a gentle hand on the other's shoulder, "Hey, whatever's in it can't be that bad."

Uranus scoffed, "Oh, suuurrreee... confessing my undying love for the Earth on every other page isn't bad at all, Jupiter!"

Jupiter froze, processing the other's words, "What?"

Uranus flushed, avoiding Jupiter's gaze, "Wh-What? I didn't say anything! Anyway, I'm off to... confront the Earth. See ya later, mate!"

Brushing past Jupiter, Uranus made his way through the asteroid belt, which didn't take long, and started on his way to the Goldilocks Zone.

"Hey, Uranus!" A voice called.

The light blue Celestial stopped, breathing heavily before turning around, "Mars! What a nice surprise seeing you, mate."

"Is it now...?" Mars raised an eyebrow, eyes looking back and forth, "I orbit the outer zone, so it can't be that much of a surprise."

"Right, right... it's a bit warm for my taste."

"So, what brings you here? You know the Sun doesn't like it when we're out of orbit."

"I was just hoping to visit the Earth."

That seemed to pique Mars' interest, a smile rising on his face, "Oh, can I come with?"

"...You just said the Sun-"

"Ah, the Sun won't mind for a little while. Come on, let's go!" Mars started flying away.

"But... ugh, alrighty then." Uranus huffed, following after the other.

"Heya, Earth!" Mars called as he drifted closer to the lively Celestial.

"Hm? Oh, hey Mars, Uranus." Earth smiled. It didn't quite meet his eyes, which Uranus noticed right away. He found it reminiscent of Saturn whenever the ringed Giant was hiding something or when he was exhausted.

Mars also seemed to notice it, a concerned look lacing his features, "Hey, you good?"

"W- Yeah, I'm fine! It's just..." Earth spared a glance at Luna, who narrowed his eyes, "Uh, I've been dealing with a lot of stress recently."

"Oh." Mars frowned, "Well, if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here for you."

"Same here, mate." Uranus held himself in a way that made him appear smaller. He wasn't good at dealing with others' emotions, let alone giving them advice when it counted, but he wanted to be there for the Earth- if not to give him advice but just to listen.

Earth cleared his throat, hoping to smoothly change the subject, "So, uhm- why are you guys here? I would play Space Poker, but I, uh... misplaced my cards."

"Seriously? That sucks." Mars spoke, "Have you tried retracing your orbit?"

"Yep." Earth nodded, "Although, there is one area I haven't looked..."

Uranus watched as the two went back and forth. He hummed in thought, his eyes darting to see if his diary was around. He happened to catch Luna's gaze. The moon was staring him down. The Ice Celestial knitted his eyebrows, flushing as he felt all four of Luna's eyes on him.

Wait, four?

Luna's eyes flashed with a darkness in them like no other.

'What in the...?' Uranus' eyes widened, his mouth opening to speak.

"Uranus? Didn't you want to speak to the Earth about something?" Mars spoke up, interrupting the other's thoughts.

Uranus blinked and once he glanced at the moon again, his eyes were normal, and he had an innocent smile displayed on his face.

"Well, Uranus? What is it?" Earth gave one of his signature smirks.

"Right, I was uhm... hoping you had seen a book around here."

"A book?" Earth tilted his head.

"Yeah- with my name on it."

Based on Earth's expressions, he seemed to realize what Uranus was talking about but tried to play it dumb, "Hmmmm... a book. I'm pretty sure I've seen one."

"Well? Was it mine?" Uranus asked.

"Mmh..." Earth raised a hand to his chin, "N-"

"Hey!" Luna butted in, "Isn't that it over there?"

Everyone's gazes averted to where Luna was pointing. A few units away floated a book labeled Uranus' Diary.

"Hahah, yes!" Uranus grinned, "Thank you, mates!"

Earth glared at Luna, "Why'd you throw the book away? I wanted to read it!"

"It's been weeks since we found it, how have you not managed to read it?" Luna glowered.

"Puh- uh- reasons!" Earth flushed red while darting his eyes away from the moon, "Maybe because you were keeping it away from me!"

Mars frowned, a deadpan look on his face once he came to a realization, "Earth. Luna."

Earth and his moon stopped, their eyes wide as they turned to the other, "Yes, Mars?"

"Please don't tell me you did what I think you did."

Earth and Luna glanced at each other, 'We're screwed.'

« × »

"Are you guys sure you wanna tag along?" Triton peered over his shoulder, "The Heliosphere isn't a place for wandering bodies."

"Yet you're the one leading the way," Callisto spoke.

Triton huffed, "Well don't blame me if we're suddenly sucked through a black hole."

"Th-There are black holes here!?" Io's eyes widened.

"N... No, Io. That was sarcasm." Triton sighed, "Anyway, you might wanna stay close. This area can be... less than welcoming."

"We'll try not to get lost," Callisto spoke, casting a glance at Io.

"I c-can defend myself with s-sulfur, s-so I'll be good!" Io grinned.

Triton frowned, yet didn't say anything. Instead, he stopped in the middle of a clearing in the Kuiper belt, "Alright, this is about as far as we can go."

"Why's that?" Callisto asked.

"The outermost layer of the Heliosphere- the Heliopause- has an immense pressure and higher winds, meaning if we were to exit this boundary..." Triton paused, "We could be crushed."

The other moons looked horrified.

"W-Well, that's no good!" Io winced.

Triton shook his head, "It's not, but- huh?"

Lowering his sunglasses, Triton squinted his eyes. In the distance, he saw a blue-ish glow. That was odd, considering there was no light source in the outreaches of the solar system.

"I'll be right back." He spoke.

"Where are you- Triton?" Callisto called after him.

Triton moved the asteroids out of his way, coming to a stop once he reached his destination. He raised an eyebrow upon seeing the object, 'A NovaStar? Well, that was easy.'

He moved closer, inspecting it carefully. Cautiously, he grabbed it, his eyes darting around for any possible danger.

'That was too easy...' Triton thought, furrowing his eyebrows as he peered at the NovaStar.

"...You're looking for someone else." A voice spoke.

"Wha- who said that!?" The moon jumped, his senses on high alert.

"Down here..."

Triton looked down at the NovaStar he gripped in his hand, "Wait, you can talk-?"

"...Yes." They spoke, "Can you please stop holding me so tightly? Contrary to what you've been told, we also need space to move freely..."

"Oh, sorry." Triton lessened his hold on the NovaStar, "Are you... Pinwheel?"

"Weren't you listening? I said you're looking for someone else..."

"Oh, so then- who are you?"

"...Wěi. It's nice to meet you, Triton."

"How do you...?"

"I know many things. It's best not to question it."

A yelp echoed throughout the area, "Agh! I-I'm sorry, p-p-please don't hurt me!"

"That sounds like Io." Triton frowned, pushing his sunglasses up, "Let's check it out!"

"What makes you think I want to go with you...?"

Triton paused, peering at the glowing object, "...I'm literally holding you."

"...Oh, that's right." Wěi uttered, "Against my will, might I add."

Triton huffed, putting the NovaStar in the inside pocket of his jacket, "I'll deal with you later, but now is not the time!"

« NOTE »

Wěi is based on SN 393, a probable supernova that was reported by the Chinese in the year 393 CE. An extracted record of this astronomical event was translated into English as follows: A guest star appeared within the asterism Wěi during the second lunar month of the 18th year of the Tai-Yuan reign period and disappeared during the ninth lunar month. The guest star reached an estimated apparent magnitude of −1 and was visible for about eight months before fading from sight, whose lengthy duration suggests the source was a supernova. However, a classical nova is not excluded as a possibility.

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