Chapter Text
...What was he doing?
Uranus was staring at Jupiter and Saturn who were having a conversation with each other just miles (and miles...) away. He was envious of how the two managed to click so well, and considering his history with them, he knew why. Every time he stared in their direction he couldn't help but feel some sort of guilt in his stomach, and if he wanted to be completely honest with himself- a lot of hatred too.
He looked down as he curled himself into a ball, his face ridden with obvious guilt and wondering.
He wasn't completely over Neptune's absence, even if it had been aeons since the incident. By this time, most planets would've forgotten such incidents cause they happened so long ago... But when your companion gets flung into the Solar System, and the other parted on bad terms with you, It leads to your mind becoming your own best friend. And the more he thought about it...and the more he stared at the two...the more he realized everything bad that happened in his life was all their fault. If they hadn't scared Uranus into not standing up for himself, if [???] hadn't been flung outside the Solar System...
Neptune would still be here right now. And he wouldn't have argued with him.
He would still be here...
-
...He shook off the guilty and depressing thoughts that came afterwards, a sign he should probably try writing his thoughts down in his new diary so they wouldn't take up room in his mind, and a sign that he should stop staring at the two before it becomes creepy. But before he could pull out the diary he heard a familiar voice.
"Hey Ur-naus, I'm back! :D"
The Ice giant said, appearing behind Uranus and running around, doing cartwheels around his twin, taking a moment to settle on his own two feet before staring at Uranus, who seemed genuinely shocked (and a little scared) that he was there.
"Neptune?!"
Uranus stared in bewilderment as he took in his previously absent twin standing right before him like he hadn't just disappeared for a million (and a million...) years!
It was a pleasant surprise, actually- bigger than a pleasant surprise- It was like his whole world gained colour again! And that's rare considering it's nothing but space for miles and miles on end...
He wanted to hug the planet, to hit him for disappearing on Uranus for what felt like an eternity, It truly felt like the Solar System version of whatever the holiday 'Christmas' was!
And for the first time in forever- he could feel a genuine smile creep up onto his face.
"Oh wow- you're back!" Uranus said, his tone weirdly casual- which had Uranus immediately question himself 'Why...' "I almost thought you got flung out of the Solar System!" Uranus tried to change his tone into something more upbeat, but when it came out it sounded so artificial, like he didn't want Neptune there- which had him questioning if Neptune thought Uranus was upset to see him here as Neptune tilted his head after he said that and--
"Oh, you know how it is, COUSIN!" Neptune blurted out immediately, snapping Uranus out of his overthinking, leaving him with an expression left to ponder what Neptune said- "What? I don't know how it--" Uranus widened his eyes. "Wait, did you just call me cousin?!" Uranus' face turned into a mix of surprise and confusion. which Neptune observed.
"Yeah! We are cousins! The only ice giants in the Solar System!" Neptune said as he made what Uranus could only describe as his fingers shaping out a box and him putting his eye in the open space between his hands, kind of like-- an earthling camera? Square? He couldn't tell really--
"Wh- that doesn't mean we're cousins, we're nothing alike!" Uranus tried to correct Neptune- "Aw come on, look at us!" he gleefully responded, doing something with his eyes while Uranus tried to look at himself, trying to see how they were similar. "We're almost the same size-" Neptune compared their heights, though had to stand on his toes a bit to try and reach Uranus' height. "-and made of the same stuff! We're EVEN pretty much the same temperature..." Neptune said, putting Uranus' hands in his, trying to compare their body temperature while Uranus looked on in confusion. "Well- but-" Uranus looked at Neptune then at himself. "We don't look the same!" He used his free hand to point at Neptune's colour scheme, "You're blue and I'm- uh-" he pointed at himself. "-lighter blue!"
"You're not lighter, just less saturated! Cause I have way less ice and stuff floating around to dull me down!" Neptune ruffled Uranus' hair a bit as an example, which triggered a sense of nostalgia in Uranus he didn't know he had while ice particles fell from his scalp. "My atmosphere is always super active! Just like my mind..." Neptune pondered off into space while holding Uranus' hand by his pinky. And Uranus went back into his mind as well.
He only just realized, but Neptune was...less sane than before. The last time they spoke, Neptune was more organized and more collected, and Uranus felt mean for saying this but-- more smart. He wondered just what happened to Neptune after the argument, how he ended up like this. "Okay, you have some good points..." Uranus spoke, breaking that second of silence between them. "But then...-" Uranus felt hesitant to ask, sighing before building up the courage to. "Why are you so-?" Uranus cut himself off as he made eye contact with Neptune. And while he expected pained thoughts once he did, reminding Uranus of what happened in that argument long ago...Looking at Neptune for the first time in a while his mind felt...clear. In a way? Interacting with Neptune earlier, not once had he felt guilt or sorrow weigh over him. I mean- he felt waves of confusion, sure, but for the first time in a while, he felt emotion that wasn't caused by his constant guilt and shame. He felt a smile on his face that wasn't caused by him reminiscing old memories but instead creating a new one. Finding out Neptune was safe and sound, albeit a bit of a ditz now.
"Why am I so...?" Neptune suddenly said, tilting his head again, waiting for Uranus to finish his sentence. Instead, breaking Uranus out of thought. Mostly.
Uranus stared at Neptune for a second, completely unaware he was just in his mind for a few seconds. "You know what- forget about it." he dismissed, not wanting the answer to whatever Neptune was gonna say. He wasn't ready for it. "I guess...when we're alone, you can call me cousin. Or- whatever..." Uranus said, scratching the back of his neck, looking away and putting his hand in his coat pocket. "But anyways I'm...I'm glad you're back, Neptune." Uranus looked back over to Neptune, who had suddenly vanished.
Oh.